One of the notable stories of 2025, Novaya Gazeta Europe writes, was the fate of the St. Petersburg cover band Stoptime, which performed songs by Monetochka, Noize MC, and other artists the authorities regard as undesirable. The group’s street concerts effectively became the largest anti-war gatherings since the start of the “special military operation,” and the response was denunciations and repeated arrests.
In April 2025, 18-year-old pianist Diana “Naoko” Loginova, guitarist Alexander Orlov, and drummer Vladislav Leontyev formed the band and spent several months playing on the streets of St. Petersburg. After videos of their performances began collecting hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok, they started drawing large crowds and announced concerts on Telegram.
Attention quickly shifted from listeners to pro-government commentators. Marina Akhmedova of the presidential Human Rights Council described such announcements as almost equivalent to notices of rallies, while State Duma deputy Mikhail Romanov filed complaints with the Investigative Committee and the Interior Ministry.
The first arrests of Stoptime members came on October 15-16. Loginova, Orlov, and Leontyev were then detained again on October 29 and November 11. They received 12 to 13 days each for “organizing a mass gathering of citizens,” and Loginova was additionally charged twice with “discrediting the army” over the songs “Ty soldat” and “Svetlaya polosa.”
After that, the outlet says, Russian TikTok filled with support videos, while teenagers and young musicians in other cities also went into the streets to perform the same songs. One interviewee from St. Petersburg said the Naoko case had reduced rather than increased fear:
“Do not lower the volume. Speak and sing so that you can be heard.”
Other young respondents described a mix of fear and solidarity. An 18-year-old musician from Moscow said she now chooses her words more carefully and fears punishment even for covers. A blogger from St. Petersburg said support for Naoko restored her sense of connection with others, while a 14-year-old artist described a feeling of helplessness eased only by refusing to give up.