November 08, 2023

No More Music


No More Music
Cover of the "Sisters" podcast about the war in Ukraine, removed from Russian streaming. t.me/privetinoagent.

Russian streaming service Yandex.Music expunged 4,333 songs, videos, podcast episodes, and album covers during the first nine months of 2023, at the behest of Roskomnadzor, the Russian government agency responsible for overseeing and regulating telecommunications within the country.

According to Russian news outlet RBK, the primary justifications for removing the content were the dissemination of "fake news" pertaining to the Russian war in Ukraine, content that discredited the Russian armed forces, materials that described or promoted non-traditional sexual relationships, information about methods of self-harm or suicide, the publication of materials categorized as extremist, or content that expressed explicit disrespect for the state, the constitution, official state symbols of Russia, its president, as well as any content promoting drug use, pornography, and even "justifications of pedophilia."

Among the purged content were Ukrainian songs, such as the folk song "Chervona Kalina," as well as songs like "Ya yidu v ZSU" ("I'm enrolling in the Armed Forces of Ukraine") by MC Chipollino. Russian artists who voiced opposition to the war in Ukraine also had their songs deleted, including "Eto proydet" ("This Will Pass") by the punk band Pornofilmy, which was dedicated to the Moscow protests of 2019.

A substantial amount of content, including podcasts, was removed. Yandex.Music recently blocked access to the podcast "Privet, ti inoagent" ("Hello, you are a foreign agent") produced by journalists Sonya Groysman and Olga Churakova. This action was taken after the release of the new season of  "Sestry" ("Sisters"), which explores the lives of Russian families with members fighting in Ukraine. Additionally, Yandex.Music eliminated "Kholod" publication's podcast about the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Meduza podcast "Deadline," which discusses Russian media in wartime conditions, as well as various other independent media podcasts. In October 2022, Yandex.Music also restricted access to the Meduza podcasts "Signal" and "Chto Sluchilos" ("What Happened").

It was previously reported that Yandex.Music would implement content censorship through the utilization of artificial intelligence and manual review processes. Furthermore, Russian authorities were planning to employ artificial intelligence for content censorship on the Russian-language internet, commonly known as RuNet.

You Might Also Like

Not My Cab of Tea
  • October 19, 2023

Not My Cab of Tea

The Netherlands is investigating whether Yandex's ride-sharing app is sharing data with Russia's FSB.
A Video Song-Apology
  • August 16, 2023

A Video Song-Apology

Three waterpark employees in Crimea were fined and forced to sing "Vladimir Putin is Great" after dancing to a Ukrainian song.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955