Lithuania calls rapper Morgenstern a threat to national security

Lithuanian authorities have banned Russian rapper Alisher Morgenstern from entering the country for 10 years. The Migration Department said that the musician could pose a threat to national security.

The migration department explained that the decision was made on the proposal of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and after collecting additional information. Earlier, Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas asked the Foreign Ministry to ban the rapper’s entry. This was done before the musician's planned concert.

“I can’t sit back and watch as for the third time a performer comes to Vilnius who is unable to answer the question “whose Crimea is,” publicly expresses respect for Putin and, at the request of the Security Service of Ukraine, was included by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine on the list of persons posing a threat to national security,” the politician said .

After the previous concert in Vilnius, videos with “obscene gestures” of the artist’s fans who came were distributed on social networks, says Delfi . Police checked information about the display of the Z symbol by visitors, but were unable to confirm this.

In Russia, Morgenstern was declared a foreign agent by the authorities in 2022, and a criminal case was opened against him. He left the country and received Israeli citizenship.