February 09, 2026

Music Worth the Fine


Music Worth the Fine
Ukrainian singer Verka Serduchka. Indrek Galetin, Wikimedia Commons

Russian citizens must be careful about what music they listen to in the car, lest any song be overheard that could discredit the Russian Armed Forces. One unfortunate resident of Voronezh Oblast was caught listening to Ukrainian artist Verka Serduchka’s song “Gulyanochka.”

Although the song is mostly sung in Russian, one line echoes the opening lines of the Ukrainian national anthem. The message: "Ukraine has not yet perished."

The press service statement on the case stated that the offender committed a public act which aimed to discredit the Russian Armed Forces and their effort to protect the Russian Federation, its citizens, and maintain international peace through the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.

The price of listening to Verka was steep: R50,000, or about $650. The Voronezh case is not the only instance of Serduchka’s music being a cause for punitive actions. Videos surfaced of Russians dancing to another of Serduchka’s songs in a cafe in Tatarstan. Law enforcement closed the cafe for an investigation and brought charges against the cafe’s director.

As for Verka, she is a one-woman show: Ukrainian singer and comedian Andriy Mykhailovych Danylko’s middle-aged drag persona is the life of the party: rowdy yet sincere, and always dreaming up insane antics.

​Verka’s character premiered in the mid-1990s on Ukrainian television, and rose to international fame when Serduchka was chosen to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007. The song “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” came in second place, but her outlandishly glamorous costumes won her the worst outfit award, a fan-voted prize. Verka has condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Serduchka was widely popular in both Russia and Ukraine and previously toured there. Only a few years ago, her songs would not have warranted further investigation. Fortunately, it seems Serduchka’s Russian fans are keeping the party going, even in the face of fines and charges.

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