Moscow police raid metal concert in ongoing crackdown on imaginary ‘Satanism Movement’
The Russian metal band Nechist and its fans have become the latest victims of the Kremlin’s crackdown on “Satanism.” On Saturday, state-affiliated media reported that Moscow police had raided and shut down a Nechist concert for allegedly featuring pentagrams, inverted crosses, and other symbols banned as “extremist.” At least 10 people were taken into custody, but there have been no reports of charges laid against them. Here’s what we know about the latest case in Russia’s crusade against the non-existent “International Satanism Movement.”
The police raid on the Nechist concert at the Eclipse club in Moscow on February 7 was widely reported in state-affiliated media, including the pro-government newspaper Izvestia, the state-backed broadcaster REN TV, and the breaking-news Telegram channel 112.
Eclipse announced the show on social media back in early December. The concert was billed as a birthday celebration for Nechist, with the band promising a “special set.” “No miracles — only darkness, noise, and primordial chaos,” the organizers wrote. Three other bands were listed on the lineup: the Moscow-based Neargroth and Arcanorum Astrum, as well as BalsamatoR from the city of Yaroslavl.
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According to Izvestia, the organizers planned to display “pentagrams, inverted crosses, and other prohibited symbols.” Videos circulated by Telegram channels show musicians in stage makeup standing at the club’s bar with their hands up or placed behind their heads. In one clip, when asked what kind of music the bands play, a member of BalsamatoR replies: “Mostly about morgues.”
Photographs taken inside the venue show stage props and merchandise — mugs, patches, caps, and other items bearing various symbols. 112 claimed that “the entire venue was decorated with pentagrams, crosses, and skulls.”
Izvestia reported that police detained 10 people, including the event’s organizer, and took them to a police station. The detainees were not released, and authorities have not said what charges they may face.
Russia banned the “International Satanism Movement” in July 2025, designating it as “extremist” although no such organization appears to exist. Displaying symbols the authorities deem “Satanist” is considered a misdemeanor offense.
Policing ‘Satanism’
The concert raid fits into a broader pattern that has emerged since Russia’s Supreme Court deemed “Satanism” as a legal threat. The ruling against the “International Satanism Movement,” handed down at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Justice Ministry, does not define which individuals or groups belong to the movement, or provide any proof of its existence. Prosecutors nonetheless claimed that its “followers” call for the desecration of Orthodox churches, chapels, and roadside crosses, engage in occult rituals, and carry out ritual killings.
In the months that followed, Russian courts began issuing misdemeanor fines for the public display of what authorities describe as “Satanic” symbols. In one of the first known cases, a resident of the city of Kurgan was fined 1,000 rubles (about $13) for posting what a court described as a “photographic image of a ‘symbol of Satan’” on VKontakte, Russia’s version of Facebook. The ruling didn’t specify what the symbol was.
A resident of Russia’s Lipetsk region was also fined for posting several images on social media, including a photograph of a tattoo reading “SATAN,” pictures of pentagrams and inverted crosses, and a meme.
“Mom, this is Sasha. He’s a good boy.”
Tarot cards have also drawn penalties. In October 2025, a woman in Krasnodar was fined for posting two images identified by the court as a “pentagram” and “Baphomet.” While the ruling didn’t include the images themselves, the woman’s social-media profile indicated that she works as a tarot reader. The independent outlet Verstka, which reviewed court records, found roughly 20 misdemeanor cases for displaying “Satanic” symbols in the four months following the Supreme Court’s decision.
Another casualty of the ruling was the cancellation of Necrocomicon, a festival scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg in November 2025. Police detained its organizer, Alexey Samsonov, the day before the planned event. According to Samsonov, he had previously received a summons from district officials, who warned him that the festival was “undesirable.”
“There was no reference to any law,” Samsonov said. “Only suspicions that Satanism might be present at the event.” His co-organizer, Dmitry Trushkov, also said district officials accused the festival team of having ties to the “Satanism movement.”
The festival briefly opened anyway, but organizers soon learned that their event permit had been revoked, forcing them to shut it down. In a subsequent social-media post, the organizers said they were temporarily unable to refund tickets for technical reasons but offered to transfer them to another festival planned for May 2026. “We are fighting not only for Necrocomicon, but for the principle itself,” they wrote. “The authorities cannot be allowed to destroy private events with impunity. We ask you to stand with us in this fight.”