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Morgenshtern Faces Decade-Long Ban from Lithuania Amid National Security Concerns

November 13, 2025

Morgenshtern Faces Decade-Long Ban from Lithuania Amid National Security Concerns

Lithuania has imposed a ten-year entry ban on exiled Russian rapper Morgenshtern, according to reports from local media on Thursday.

The Baltic News Service reported that Lithuania’s migration authorities indicated this ban was enacted following a written recommendation from the Foreign Ministry, which expressed concerns that Morgenshtern could represent a national security risk.

“The entry restriction on A. Morgenshtern is effective immediately and will last for ten years,” a spokesperson from the migration department of the Lithuanian Interior Ministry stated, as quoted by BNS. Additional details were not disclosed.

Morgenshtern, whose actual name is Alisher Valeyev, has not yet made any public comments regarding the ban on his entry to Lithuania. Despite this, a concert in Vilnius scheduled for November 29 still appears on his official tour website.

Last month, Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas requested the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry to consider placing Morgenshtern on the list of undesirable individuals, referring to his previous remarks regarding the annexation of Crimea, comments about President Vladimir Putin, and the fact that Ukraine has already banned him.

In 2021, Ukraine included Morgenshtern on its blacklist, just prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion, due to allegations from Kyiv authorities of his music promoting violence and drug use.

Morgenshtern, who is known for being one of Russia’s most controversial rappers, is currently under criminal investigation in his home country for not adhering to Russia’s “foreign agent” reporting regulations. The Russian authorities have seized his assets and placed him on a wanted list.

Known for his explicit lyrics and provocative persona, Morgenshtern left Russia in November 2021 after federal investigators accused him of drug trafficking.

In May 2022, Russia’s Justice Ministry designated Morgenshtern as a “foreign agent,” just three months following the invasion of Ukraine.

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rimmaruslan98@gmail.com November 22, 2025

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