Singing Anti Kremlin Song, Diana Loginova Is Again Detained By Russian Police After Being Free From Prison

JAKARTA - Police in St. Petersburg arrested Diana Loginova, a street musician who has been jailed twice after singing anti-Kremlin songs.

Loginova, 18, vocalist in the Stoptime group, was first arrested along with other band members last month and jailed for 13 days for a public order breach after her performance performing the banned song, "Swan Lake Cooperative", by the exiled anti-Kremlin Russian rapper Noize MC, went viral on social media.

The Swan Lake song caused him trouble. The reason is that Piotr Tchaikovsky's famous ballet is considered a symbol of political change by some people in Russia who remember ballet was broadcast on state TV after the deaths of Soviet leaders and during the 1991 coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet president.

His performance performed another song that the authorities did not like - "You Are a Soldier" by Monetochka singer who had left the country and was designated a "foreign agent" - got him into legal trouble. He was fined 30,000 rubles ($369) for discrediting the army.

The court later sentenced him to 13 more days in prison on charges of minor hoodiganism over his performance near a metro station in downtown St. Petersburg last month.

Authorities in Russia have silenced critical voices since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine in February 2022, arguing the public should unite as much as possible when they say they are caught in a proxy war with the West.

Loginova was supposed to be released on Monday, but instead was taken to a police station in downtown St. Petersburg.

The state news agency RIA quoted a law enforcement source as saying Loginova was expected to be charged with another breach of public order that could put her in prison for a short time.

Separately, court records show Loginova faces more charges for discrediting the army.

Loginova - a music student who appears under the name "Naoko" - told reporters last month that musical power was important as evidenced by what happened to her, but has yet to make an explicit political statement.

In May, courts banned Loginova's song related to Swan Lake, deciding the song contained a statement that could be considered "provoking violent changes to the foundation of constitutional order."