Exiled Russian pop singer Monetochka has penned a poem in solidarity with three young street musicians from St. Petersburg who were imprisoned after playing a prohibited anti-Kremlin song, according to media reports on Monday.
Recently, Monetochka expressed her distress regarding the detention of the trio, known as Stoptime, whose members received sentences of 12 to 13 days of administrative confinement last Thursday for obstructing pedestrian access to a metro station during their outdoor performance.
Their arrest followed a viral clip that showed the group performing a banned track referencing the Ozero dacha cooperative associated with President Vladimir Putin’s allies, as well as the ballet Swan Lake, which has come to represent the downfall of a Soviet leader.
Diana Loginova, the lead vocalist who goes by the name Naoko, faces additional charges for “discrediting” the Russian military. This minor offense can carry a fine and may result in criminal charges if committed again within a year.
During a performance in Valencia on Sunday, Monetochka recited lines condemning the government’s fear of creativity, music, and love, as shared in a social media clip by the independent opposition channel Dozhd. The poem begins with:
“You wear such an angry expression,
Yet you cower before guitars and singers.
Ink, canvases, and watercolors frighten you,
As do those who possess even a hint of courage.
You panic so much that it’s simpler for me
To tell you what doesn’t scare you.”
Monetochka, whose birth name is Yelizaveta Gyrdymova and who has been living abroad since 2022, criticized the authorities for being “afraid of our passionate hearts because they can melt steel and lead.”
“Our songs soar like birds to those who are kind, brave, and honest.”
In 2023, Russian officials labeled Monetochka as a “foreign agent” and have since accused her of breaching the stipulations linked to this classification.
Following the arrests, Stoptime’s followers on Telegram have surged from hundreds to nearly 45,000. The band has announced it will halt all upcoming performances.
