Nothing but the anti-Kremlin hits Performing songs by blacklisted musicians made this Russian street band famous. Then it landed them in jail.

On October 16, a St. Petersburg court jailed the members of Stoptime, a street band that went viral for covering songs by popular artists the Kremlin has blacklisted as “foreign agents.” The three musicians were found guilty of “organizing a rally” that violated public order, a misdemeanor. But the lead singer, 18-year-old Diana Loginova, was also charged with two counts of defaming the Russian military, which means she could now face criminal prosecution. The story of these young musicians persecuted for performing the “wrong songs” has gained widespread attention among Russians both at home and abroad. Meduza recounts how Stoptime provoked the wrath of pro-war pundits — and won over the public. 

‘I’m not particularly afraid’

Also known by the stage name Naoko, 18-year-old Diana Loginova is a pianist and music student at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg. She began performing as part of the street band Stoptime in April 2025, together with guitarist Alexander Orlov and drummer Vladislav Leontiev.

In August, the St. Petersburg news outlet Bumaga posted a video on Instagram of Stoptime performing a cover of “Eto bylo v Rossii” (“It was in Russia”), a hit song by the Russian singer Monetochka. The video quickly went viral, gaining more than half a million views and 80,000 likes. 

In an interview with Bumaga, Loginova explained that Stoptime’s repertoire includes songs by popular artists like Monetochka, Zemfira, and Noize MC — musicians the authorities happen to have blacklisted as “foreign agents.” When asked why she chose their songs in particular, Loginova replied: “There’s love in them.” 

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“If I feel that a song has a message and the author was able to convey a feeling of love, [then] I know that this song is mine and I want to perform it,” she explained. “Right now, art is the only language — at least in Russia — through which you can express what you think. I chose it and I don’t want to speak any other: I speak the language of art.”

Loginova acknowledged that the band’s performances could land them in trouble. St. Petersburg banned unlicensed street performers back in 2023, and the trio had grown used to being shooed off by police. But she didn’t appear to think she would actually get arrested. “The most they can give us is a fine, because some of [the songs we cover] are banned from distribution,” she said. “I’m not particularly afraid that they might take us down to the police station.” 

‘Almost as if they were rallies’

Stoptime’s members were arrested for the first time six days after Bumaga published the interview with Loginova. St. Petersburg police wrote them up for violating the city’s noise ordinance and then released them after they paid a fine. Undeterred, the band continued to perform, and grew even more famous — landing themselves on the radar of pro-war pundits. 

Marina Akhmedova, the head of the pro-Kremlin outlet Regnum and a member of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council, first wrote about Stoptime on her Telegram channel at the end of September. She later dedicated several more indignant posts to the band, claiming that they announced their upcoming street performances “almost as if they were rallies.” 

Then, over the weekend of October 11–12, Stoptime gave two performances on St. Petersburg’s main thoroughfare, Nevsky Prospekt. A video of the crowd dancing and singing along to “Swan Lake Cooperative” — a banned song by Noize MC — against the backdrop of the famous Kazan Cathedral began making the rounds on Telegram. That’s when pro-war commentators started calling for both the musicians and the audience members to be punished. 

Loginova was arrested on October 15. The next day, a St. Petersburg court found all three bandmates guilty of misdemeanor charges of “organizing a rally” that violated public order. Loginova and drummer Vladislav Leontiev were jailed for 13 days; guitarist Alexander Orlov was jailed for 12. 

Update: Stoptime guitarist Alexander Orlov was released from jail on October 27, only to be arrested on a new misdemeanor charge of “discrediting” the Russian military as he was leaving the detention center, Bumaga reported. Orlov was reportedly taken to St. Petersburg’s 76th Police Station. Human right activists reported that the band’s lead singer, Diana Loginova, was taken there too.

Though it was initially reported that a little-known rapper from St. Petersburg was responsible for reporting Stoptime to the authorities, the local news outlet Fontanka later revealed that at least one other person had filed a complaint: State Duma lawmaker Mikhail Romanov. 

Romanov, a United Russia member from St. Petersburg, claimed that a fellow lawmaker had shown him a video of “teenagers jumping around to the songs of foreign agents” across from the Kazan Cathedral. (“He was very surprised that such a thing was possible,” Romanov said.) After watching the footage, Romanov wrote complaints to both the Russian Investigative Committee and the Interior Ministry. 

In addition to serving jail time, Loginova is also awaiting trial on two misdemeanor counts of “discrediting” the Russian military. If convicted, she could face criminal prosecution for “repeat” offenses, which are punishable by up to five years in prison. However, as journalist Alexander Plyushev pointed out, by law, the authorities can’t open a criminal case against Loginova until after she’s had the opportunity to appeal the misdemeanor convictions — a process that typically takes several months. “If Diana is released after [serving] the 13 days, she will have a month or maybe even two to pack her things and get out of Russia,” Plyushev said. 

‘Music is not a crime’ 

The case against Stoptime provoked an outpouring of sympathy among Russians inside the country and abroad. In Russia, leaflets and posters calling for the musicians’ release appeared on the streets of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, and other cities; street musicians performed banned songs in solidarity and some supporters even conducted solitary protests. (At least two people have been arrested for their efforts, including Yekaterinburg street musician Yevgeny Mikhailov, who was jailed for 14 days on charges of petty hooliganism and “discrediting” the Russian military.)

House concerts, street performances, and protests in support of Stoptime have also taken place abroad, under the slogans “Music is not a crime,” #FreeStoptime, and #FreedomNaoko. On TikTok, more than 6,500 videos have been created using the hashtag svobody naoko (“freedom Naoko,” in Russian), many of which were filmed by teenagers. And a Change.org petition calling for the release of Loginova and her bandmates has gathered more than 47,500 signatures.  

On October 25, dozens of people lined up outside of the Russian Presidential Administration’s reception office in Moscow to sign a petition calling for the band members’ release. The petition, initiated by opposition politician Yekaterina Duntsova, also calls for an inquiry into the practice of mass denunciations and the enforcement of laws against “discrediting” the military and organizing mass gatherings as applied to public musical performances.

In the media world, the Stoptime case has prompted a range of commentary on the trajectory of Russian state censorship and anti-Kremlin opposition. The analytical platform Re:Russia, for example, described the arrests “a clear example of the mechanisms by which systematic censorship is being established in Russia,” noting that since early 2024, the ideological scope of state censorship has expanded to include “not only anti-war and political protest messages but also themes of youthful nonconformity, which the authorities interpret as promoting an ‘immoral lifestyle.’” In turn, Novaya Gazeta Europe editor Kirill Martynov characterized the outpouring of support for Stoptime on social media as “a virtual rebellion led by Russian youth against the war and against Putin.” 

Meanwhile, on social media, there is an ongoing debate over whether the members of Stoptime were fully aware of the potential consequences of their performances, or whether they acted recklessly and carelessly. There is also a debate over who is to blame for their arrest: the Russian authorities, or the independent journalists who reported on the band and the ordinary people who posted videos of their performances. (During Loginova’s court hearing, her mother, Irina Loginova, reproached journalists for failing to mention that the singer had also performed patriotic songs.)

Though Stoptime initially encouraged their followers to share videos of their street concerts, on October 14 they asked them to stop, citing safety concerns. (The band members stood trial two days later.) The band’s Telegram channel, which was created in August, has more than 49,000 subscribers. But since the arrests, most of its video content has been removed. All that remains is messages with cheerful stickers thanking new followers for their support.