Notes at the Front

In December, in a high-profile prisoner exchange, US athlete Brittney Griner, convicted of cannabis oil smuggling, was released from Russian prison in exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian jailed since 2011 for trafficking weapons and aiding a terrorist organization.

Following his return to Russia, Bout embarked on a series of publicity events, joining the nationalist LDPR party and being interviewed by Maria Butina on state television channel RT. Opposition activist Daniil Konstantinov, who was involved in the movement for free elections a decade ago and who spent several months in jail, was not particularly touched by Bout’s story:

“Viktor Bout complained to Maria Butina about the food in his American prison. The fare, he said, is very monotonous, the menu has not changed for years. So what exactly does this menu consist of? We don’t have all the details, but we can glean something from Bout’s story. On Wednesday they were given a hamburger ‘with those fried potatoes,’ and on Thursday, ‘this chicken, you know, these giant Bush legs’

“‘Which don’t exist in nature,’ his interviewer chimes in.

“The entire time, Butina watches Bout with an expression of sincere anguish, empathizing with her guest. It must be a feat of true heroism, eating hamburgers and chicken legs for so many years.

“They should be sent on a tour of Russian camps and prisons, these Bouts and Butinas. On a lengthy, immersion tour. They can chow down on prison kasha, cabbage, ‘vegetable ragout’ with cheap lard, the rice and meat, where meat is something that looks like strands of hair in the rice. And only if you look closely can you recognize them as meat fibers. There is also the superb barley with fried herring, but not always, and borshch with beets that have been chopped unpeeled.

“I must add, this was always the case when I was in prison. Today, they say, the food in Moscow jails has improved. But that is not the case in the camps. One of my prison buddies came out of his sentence having lost 40 kilograms. The bulk of their menu was kasha, ‘vegetable soup,’ and cabbage, which for some reason was called bigus. There’s no hamburger Wednesday or Bush leg Thursday.

“If you think about it, the nonsense the propagandists are selling to our people is incredible. Torture with burgers and chicken legs in Western prisons! What do you think of that!”

In December, Russian schools reportedly received a set of instructions for their upcoming New Year’s festivities: children were to celebrate with school discos, but respect a blacklist of banned musicians, so classified primarily because they have taken a stance against the war in Ukraine.

Many on the blacklist are not likely to be of interest to teenagers, as they are primarily popular with the older generation, while others continue to be wildly popular on YouTube and other online platforms, despite having had to leave Russia.

The list is not the first sign that Russia has officially censored artists who have spoken out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The St. Petersburg website Fontanka some time ago reported that Russian promoters had a list of musicians banned from performing concerts at public venues.

A partial list is given below.

Morgenshtern

Real name: Alisher Valeyev

Style: rap

Details: Though barely tolerated by Russia’s authorities since long before the war for depictions of drugs and other outrageous antics in his videos, the government officially declared Morgenshtern a “foreign agent” in May 2022, alleging he had received money from Ukraine and Israel. The singer’ music videos are extremely popular, often garnering 20 or more million views. His song “12,” released in March, mentions being “sent to the massacre” by “old men” and incorporates a real voice message from the mother of his producer, calling her son from Odessa, where she was sheltering in a cellar.

Noize MC

Real name: Ivan Alexeyev

Style: rap

Details: Noize MC has long irked Russian authorities, as his music frequently features criticism of Russian police and social injustice. For over a decade, his concerts have been regularly canceled by the authorities. He openly supported opposition politician Alexei Navalny, was a regular at political street protests in Moscow, and has spoken in favor of Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict in Donbas in 2014. Since early 2022 he has been touring European capitals with sold-out concerts, giving the proceeds to charities supporting Ukrainian refugees. He was long rumored to be on quasi-official lists of banned artists and was declared a “foreign agent” in November 2022.

@noizemc

Manizha

Real name: Manizha Sangin

Style: pop, soul, ethno, rap

Details: Manizha rose to wide prominence in 2021 as the country’s official pick to represent Russia in Eurovision. Born in Tajikistan to parents that later fled that country to Russia to avoid civil war, she often speaks out in support of women’s rights and refugees. She took a stand against the war on her Instagram, which provoked an online campaign against her and cancellation of concerts. Unlike many other banned artists, Manizha says she is committed to staying in Russia and supporting her charity work.

@manizha

Oxxxymiron

Real name: Miron Fyodorov

Style: rap

Details: Author of Gorgorod, one of the most influential hip-hop albums in Russia, Oxxxymiron began his music career while living in England with his parents, eventually graduating from the University of Oxford with a degree in English. After moving to Russia, he openly expressed oppositional views, participated in protests, and supported those arrested at rallies. When the war started, Oxxxymiron canceled his concerts in Russia and launched a world tour, Russians Against War in Europe, donating the proceeds to organizations helping Ukrainian refugees. As a result, one of his older songs was declared extremist. The artist joined the ranks of “foreign agents” in October.

@norimyxxxo

Louna

Real name: Lousine Gevorkyan (vocalist) + band

Style: alt-rock

Details: Moscow-based Louna has released political songs in the past: its 2020 hit “Silence of the Lambs” is about the phenomenon of collective cowardice. A year later, proceeds from its track “House Upon the Blood” were donated to a charity dealing with domestic violence in Russia. On the music scene for at least a decade, Louna enjoyed a stint of popularity in the US following a successful tour and media interest. On its Instagram, the band called the day of Russia’s invasion “horrifyingly dark and irreversible” and postponed its shows. Later in the year, Louna was reported to be on the list of banned bands, after which its concerts began to be canceled by venues.

@lounaband (YouTube)

Face

Real name: Ivan Dremin

Style: rap

Details: Face grew up in Ufa and was briefly involved in right-wing hooligan clubs and boxing before diving into music. He achieved recognition with his album Mysterious Ways (Пути неисповедимы), which is full of criticism of Russian society and the government. It was followed by a “Musician of the Year” award from Russian GQ magazine. He has supported Navalny and other members of the opposition and deleted his music from all Russian platforms after Putin invaded Ukraine, saying he has no moral right to cooperate with pro-government companies. He has left Russia and held benefit concerts, giving the proceeds to a Ukrainian organization supporting women in crisis. The Russian government declared him a “foreign agent” in April 2022.

@facemoney (YouTube)

Little Big

Real name: Ilya Prusikin, Sonya Tayurskaya

Style: pop, punk, rave

Details: Russian sensation Little Big, whose hit “Skibidi” has been viewed over 650 million times on YouTube, was set to represent Russia in Eurovision 2020, but the event was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the band’s social media displayed antiwar messages. The band canceled its Russian shows and apparently split up, with two members leaving Russia and two staying behind. Its most recent hit is “Generation Cancellation,” a critique of the state propaganda machine.

@littlebigband

Valery Meladze

Style: pop, rock

Details: A mainstream crooner who has been a permanent staple on Russian television and in tabloids, he is beloved by older female audiences. Meladze had a lot to lose by taking a public stance against the war, which he did the day of the invasion in February. Many of his biggest planned concerts in 2022 were canceled, although he still seemed to be invited to private shows and clubs. The singer even posted on Instagram that he is considering going back to a career in engineering, in which he has a degree.

@meladzevalerian

Nogu Svelo! (I got a leg cramp!)

Real name: Maxim Pokrovsky (vocals) + band

Style: rock, ska, punk

Details: Active since the perestroika era, Nogu Svelo’s biggest hit was the 1993 Haru Mamburu, a fun and meaningless song from an eponymous album made up of songs in a fake foreign language. Once a frequent guest on TV shows, Pokrovsky performed for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. In recent years, Nogu Svelo has taken a stand on political issues, and since the invasion it has released half a dozen vehemently critical tracks, such as “Anthem of Doomed Orks,” about the Russian army in Ukraine, and “I’m Afraid,” about being surrounded by enemies in your own country.

@NoguSvelo (YouTube)

Ilya Yashin, one of the very few established opposition politicians who remained in Russia in 2022, was convicted on charges of “disseminating false information about the Russian army” and sentenced to 8.5 years in prison. The specific misdemeanor, in the eyes of the Russian court, was Yashin’s YouTube stream in April 2022, in which he told viewers about Russian soldiers’ atrocities against civilians in Ukraine’s town of Bucha.

Yashin has been an opposition politician since his teenage years and an ally of the Yabloko party, Boris Nemtsov, and Alexei Navalny. Unlike many opposition politicians, he served in elected office on the Moscow council. Most of his former high-profile colleagues are currently dead, in jail, or have fled Russia. Yashin had been repeatedly arrested and fined for various alleged infractions, in what he believed was an attempt to pressure him to leave the country.

Below is Yashin’s final declaration in court, the latest in our series of “last words” uttered by Russians imprisoned on politically motivated charges. These courtroom “last words” are one of the last surviving free-speech traditions in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Dear Listeners!

The phrase “the last word of the accused” has a rather dark ring to it, doesn’t it? It’s as if my mouth will be sewn shut after my speech, and I’ll never be allowed to speak again. Everyone understands that this is the point. I am being isolated from society and held in jail because they want me to be silenced. Because some time ago our parliament stopped being a place of discussions, and now the entirety of Russia is supposed to silently consent to whatever the authorities do.

But I give you my word, as long as I’m alive, I will not concede to this. My mission is to tell the truth. I have done this in city squares, in TV studios, at city-council podiums. I will not turn away from the truth behind bars either. To quote a classic, “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the god of the free man.” [Quote from Maxim Gorky’s The Lower Depths.]

I would like to start by addressing the court. Your Honor, I appreciate how these proceedings were organized. You conducted an open trial; you didn’t prevent me from speaking out and my defense attorneys from doing their jobs. And this should not be anything out of the ordinary; this is how trials should be conducted in any normal country. But against the charred remains of Russian justice, this trial stands out as something still living. And believe me, I value this.

I will be frank, Oksana Ivanovna, you yourself made an unusual impression. I noticed the interest with which you listened to the prosecution and the defense, how you reacted to my words, how you had doubts and thoughts. For the authorities you are just a cog in the system that is supposed to function without reflection. But I see a living person who will take off your judge’s robe in the evening and go buy your groceries in the same shop where my mother buys farmer’s cheese. And I have no doubt that you and she have the same worries. That you, like me, are shocked by this war and pray that this nightmare will end as quickly as possible.

You know, Oksana Ivanovna, I have one principle that I have followed for many years. Do what you must and come what may. When the military operation began, there was not a moment’s doubt as to what I should do. I have to be in Russia, I have to loudly tell the truth. And I have to do everything in my power to stop the bloodshed. I am in physical pain from thinking about how many people have died in this war, how many lives have been brutalized, how many families lost their homes. It’s simply impossible to come to terms with this. And I swear, I do not regret anything. It’s better to spend 10 years behind bars as an honest person than to silently be consumed by shame for the blood shed by your government.

Of course, Your Honor, I do not expect any miracles here. You know that I am innocent, and I know how much pressure this system exerts on you. And clearly you will have to issue a guilty verdict. But I don’t hold it against you, and I don’t wish you any harm. However, try to do everything in your power not to allow injustice. Remember that your decision will not just determine my personal fate; you are sentencing the entire segment of our society that wants to have a peaceful and civilized life, a segment of society to which you, Oksana Ivanovna, may very well belong.

Taking the opportunity this podium gives, I would like to also address Russian president Vladimir Putin. The man who is responsible for this massacre, who signed the law about military censorship, and who wants me to sit in prison.

Vladimir Vladimirovich!

Looking at the consequences of this barbaric war, you perhaps understand yourself what a grave mistake you made on February 24. Our army is not being greeted with flowers. We are being called killers and occupiers. Your name will be eternally associated with the words “death” and “destruction.”

You have inflicted great suffering on the Ukrainian people, who will perhaps never forgive you. But you aren’t just waging war against Ukrainians; you are also waging it against your compatriots.

You send hundreds of thousands of Russians into an inferno from which many will never come home, turning into dust. Many will be crippled or go insane from what they have seen and experienced. For you these are just statistics, numbers in a column. But for many families it is the unbearable pain of losing husbands, fathers and sons.

You are robbing Russians of their home. Hundreds of thousands of our compatriots have left their Motherland because they don’t want to kill or be killed. People are running from you, Mr. President. Don’t you see that?

You are undermining the foundation of our economic security. By putting industry on a military footing, you are turning our country backwards. Tanks and cannons are once again the priority, and our reality is poverty and disenfranchisement. Have you forgotten that such policies already brought our country to ruin once before?

Perhaps my words are just a voice crying out in the wilderness, but I call on you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, to put an immediate end to this madness. It is essential that the policies toward Ukraine be recognized as mistaken, that troops be withdrawn from its territory, and that a diplomatic resolution to the conflict be pursued. Remember: every day of the war brings new casualties. Enough is enough.

Finally, I would like to address the people who have followed this case, who supported me these months and are anxiously awaiting the verdict.

Friends! Whatever decision is taken by this court, however harsh the sentence, this mustn’t break you. I understand how difficult it is right now, how painful the feeling of powerlessness and hopelessness is. But you cannot give up. Please don’t become despondent and don’t forget that this is our country. It deserves to be fought for. Be brave, don’t back down before evil. Resist. Stand up for your street, for your towns. And most of all, stand up for each other. There are more of us than it may seem, and we are a great power.

And don’t worry about me. I promise that I will handle all the ordeals, I will not complain and endure this path with dignity. And you, please, promise me that you will keep your optimism and will not forget to smile. Because when we lose our ability to rejoice in life – that is when they win.

Believe me, Russia will be free and happy.

Source: https://www.the-village.ru/all-village/repressii/poslednee-slovo-ili-yashina

Disbelief: 100 Anti-War Poems, an anthology that we published some excerpts from in our Fall 2022 issue, has been published in the UK by Smokestack Books. The book features Russian poetry written since the invasion of Ukraine began. It is available from Amazon UK and other British booksellers.