Russian band Anacondaz’ concert cancelled in Yekaterinburg due to government demand

Law enforcement arrived at Yekaterinburg's concert venue Tele Club, where the Russian band Anacondaz was rehearsing before its concert — which is part of the summer festival Pauzern Picnic — and cancelled the event, citing the “Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs’ demands”, reported the band’s vocalist Artem Khorev on his social media.

Khorev said that police officers threatened to arrest them for 15 days for “careless actions” and said that the event’s participants could start setting cars on fire. Also, according to Khorev, musicians are allowed to contest the cancellation decision in the prosecutor’s office.

The head of a human rights group Agora Pavel Chikov reported that, a week before the concert, the law enforcement and Ministry of Culture had sent the organisers letters stating their refusal to give out permission for the concert. The band found a new venue but that is exactly where the police arrived, asking for the concert to be cancelled.

At the end of June, Moscow’s GlavClub music venue cancelled the concerts of Anacondaz, band Neschastny Sluchay, and singer Manizha “under pressure from the state authorities”. An Anacondaz concert was scheduled for 26 June as part of the PunkRupor festival.

Members of Anacondaz expressed their anti-war views several times. On 24 February, the band posted a message on their Instagram page saying: “We can’t ignore this. We can’t stay silent. We are against the war. #notowar”.