September 04, 2026

Instasamka's London Show Is Cancelled


Instasamka's London Show Is Cancelled
The singer Instasamka. Okras, Wikimedia Commons.

On August 29, the Telegram channel Ekho reported that a nightclub in London cancelled a show by influencer and music star Instasamka after receiving a complaint from a Russian anti-war organization. The letter sent to the club claimed Instasamka had transferred payments to the Russian army.

Instasamka, whose real name is Darya Zoteeva, was scheduled to perform on November 14 at the London discotheque For Your Eyes Only. Ksenia Maksimova, chairwoman of the England-based dissident group The Russian Democratic Society, sent a letter to the club, demanding they cancel the Russian singer's appearance. A Liberal Democrat municipal councillor and a founding member of the all-party parliamentary group Russia Watch joined Maksimova's complaint.

In the letter, Maksimova claimed that Instasamka had sent money to the Russian army. She added that the singer is a provocateur who engages in Russian special information operations, saying Instasamka promoted "Russian Nazism, fascism, and Kremlin core values" and supported Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  

Maksimova said Instasamka was added to the Ukrainian database "Myrotvorets," which lists and doxxes Russians who support or committed war crimes in Russia's war on Ukraine. "Myrotvorets" used a quote attributed to the singer by the channel Imperya Ochen Zla ("The Empire is Very Angry") and reports by the Ukrainian media as evidence of the Russian singer's transfers to her country's military. According to independent outlet Mediazona, the Telegram account cited is "unreliable." Instasamka has denied sending money to the Russian army. 

The nightclub For Your Eyes Only said they decided to cancel Instasamka's performance "after careful consideration."

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