A teenage Russian street musician who has spent nearly a month in jail after singing anti-Kremlin songs was handed another 13-day prison sentence on Tuesday.
Diana Loginova, 18, who sings in a group called Stoptime, was arrested in her native St Petersburg last month and has already been jailed twice for performing cover versions of songs penned by Kremlin critics in the heart of Russia’s second city.
She was first arrested with other band members for a public order offence after her performance of a banned track, “Swan Lake Cooperative”, by exiled anti-Kremlin Russian rapper Noize MC, went viral on social media.
Stoptime became an internet sensation in St Petersburg after videos showed them performing songs by exiled Russian musicians. Their performances, which included lyrics critical of the government and its war in Ukraine, attracted large crowds.
According to Amnesty International, police arrested vocalist Ms Loginova, alongside guitarist Aleksandr Orlov and drummer Vladislav Leontyev on 15 October, accusing them of “organising a mass gathering that violated public order”.
Ms Loginova and Mr Leontyev received 13 days of “administrative detention”, while Mr Orlov got 12 days. Ms Loginova was also fined 30,000 rubles for “discrediting the armed forces”.
The musicians were released but subsequently rearrested on similar charges for earlier performances, and were sentenced to up to two weeks in detention.
Ms Loginova and Mr Orlov were detained a third time upon leaving custody, Amnesty said. Authorities have not disclosed the charges, prompting accusations of “carousel arrests”, a tactic used to extend detention without having to file criminal charges.
Ms Loginova – a music student who performs under the name Naoko – told reporters last month that the power of music is important, as proven by what was happening to her, but has not made any explicit political statements.
Their case has sparked solidarity actions nationwide, leading to further arrests of musicians and supporters in cities including Yekaterinburg, Perm, St Petersburg and Moscow.
A court in May banned the Swan Lake-related track that Ms Loginova performed, ruling that it included statements that could be seen as “promoting violent changes to the foundations of the constitutional order”.
The song caused particular controversy because Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s famous Swan Lake ballet holds political significance for some Russians. It was notably broadcast on state television after the deaths of Soviet leaders and during the 1991 coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union.
