Rock legend Boris Grebenshchikov charged with ‘discrediting’ Russian military

A misdemeanor case has been opened at a Moscow district court against Boris Grebenshchikov, a legendary rock musician, Aquarium lead singer, and pioneer of eclectic world-music-inspired songwriting.

The new docket was spotted by the court monitors at Medizona. The exact reason for opening the case remains unclear, and no hearings have been scheduled yet.

Last January, State Duma Deputy Sultan Khamzayev said he would file a complaint with the Investigative Committee, asking the authority to consider pressing charges, presumably based on Grebenshchikov’s statements in an interview to the Israeli Channel 9.

Among other opinions expressed in that interview, Grebenshchikov said that invading Ukraine is one nation’s attempt to exterminate another on an ethnic basis. “This is precisely what fascism is,” said the artist, who lives in London.

Khamzayev said he was going to ask the Investigative Committee to evaluate Grebenshchikov’s statements for possibly “discrediting” the Russian military and aiding terrorism and extremism.