ST PETERSBURG: A teenage Russian street musician was jailed for 13 days on Thursday after she played a banned anti-Kremlin song on St. Petersburg’s central avenue.
Diana Loginova, an 18-year-old music student who performs under the name Naoko with her band Stoptime, was arrested on Wednesday after her performance of the popular song “Swan Lake Cooperative” by exiled Russian rapper Noize MC went viral on Russian social media.
A video showed a crowd of youngsters singing along with Loginova in a rare show of public defiance of the authorities, given the risk of arrest.
A St. Petersburg court found her guilty on Thursday of organizing an unplanned gathering that blocked public access to the metro — an administrative, as opposed to criminal, offense.
City police said after serving the 13 days, Loginova would be charged with an additional administrative offense of “discrediting” the Russian military.
