‘Their only ‘crime’ is singing songs that challenge the suffocating official narrative’ - Denis Krivosheev

Band Stoptime went viral last month signing songs by exiled musicians in St Petersburg

“Carousel arrests” - a practice used to prolong deprivation of liberty without filing criminal charges used to silence musicians

In response to the third time that Diana Loginova (aka Naoko) and Aleksandr Orlov, street music performers from the band Stoptime, are being held in administrative detention, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:

“The repeated arrests of Naoko and her bandmates are punishment for their public performance which have become a breath of fresh air in a country gasping under repression and self-censorship.

“Worse still, the authorities’ persistence in pursuing Naoko and her fellow musicians raises fears that they might be preparing criminal charges against them. Russian lawmakers have introduced so many repressive and vague laws that prosecuting someone for expressing anti-war views is little more than a technicality.

“Authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Naoko and Aleksandr Orlov and other street musicians detained for acts of anti-war protest, simply exercising their right to freedom of expression. Their only ‘crime’ is singing songs that challenge the suffocating official narrative.”

Escalating repression of anti-war performers in Russia

In October, videos of the street band Stoptime performing songs by exiled Russian musicians in Saint Petersburg went viral. Crowds joined in singing lyrics critical of the authorities, human rights violations and the war against Ukraine.

Police arrested the three band members; vocalist Diana Loginova (Naoko), guitarist Aleksandr Orlov and drummer Vladislav Leontyev, on 15 October, accusing them of “organising a mass gathering that violated public order” (Article 20.2.2(1) of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences). Loginova and Leontyev were placed in so-called administrative detention for 13 days, and Orlov for 12 days. The court also fined Loginova 30,000 rubles (approximately US$ 370) for “discrediting the Armed Forces” under Article 20.3.3 of the Code.

When their administrative detention expired on 27 and 28 October, police immediately re-arrested them under Article 20.2.2 for earlier performances, sentencing them to another 12–13 days. Naoko also received 13 days for “petty hooliganism” (Article 20.1 CAO) for allegedly using obscene language during one of her performances and a second fine for “discreditation.”

On 9–10 November, Orlov and Loginova were detained for the third time in a row as they left detention. The authorities have not disclosed the grounds for their new detention, continuing a pattern of “carousel arrests” - a practice used to prolong deprivation of liberty without filing criminal charges.

Their case sparked solidarity concerts across Russia. In Yekaterinburg, Evgeny Mikhailov was placed in administrative detention for 14 days for “petty hooliganism” for “shouting slogans and disturbing public order” and “discreditation of the Armed Forces.” In Perm, street musician Yekaterina Romanova (Ostasheva) received seven days of administrative detention for “refusal to undergo a drug test,” then another 15 days and 60 hours of community work for “disobeying the police.” Police also detained three performers in Saint Petersburg and one protester in Moscow, whose identities are not yet known.