Perm Street Musician Sentenced for Supporting Stoptime During Concert

A court in Perm, a city located in central Russia, has handed a seven-day detention sentence to street performer Yekaterina Romanova after her involvement in a street concert supporting Stoptime, a St. Petersburg band that has experienced multiple arrests over the past month, as reported by the independent outlet Sotavision on Monday.

Romanova played a role in organizing a concert on October 22 to express solidarity with Stoptime, which took place without interruption from law enforcement officials.

During the event, attendees performed “Svetlaya Polosa” by Noize MC, one of Stoptime’s tracks, along with protest songs like “Peremen” by Kino and “Vse Idet Po Planu” by Yegor Letov.

Though the group announced a follow-up concert for November 1, it was later canceled. Romanova was taken into custody on the same day the second concert was initially meant to occur.

In a message on her Telegram channel regarding the cancellation of the concert, Romanova expressed, “I want to perform without the fear of incarceration. I prefer that music not be intertwined with politics. It should be about emotions and life experiences. At present, street performers are being unfairly associated with political issues. We are merely an avenue for information, nothing beyond that. Politics does not interest me. I am apolitical.”

The police formally accused her of noncompliance with a drug test, leading to her seven-day detention effective November 1.

Additionally, authorities have charged Romanova with “organizing a mass gathering of individuals in a public area,” as reported by local news source Perm 36.6. A hearing concerning these allegations is scheduled for November 6.

Sotavision also reported that Romanova was held in a police facility from November 1 to 3, where conditions were uncomfortable due to cold temperatures and constant lighting, but she is now being relocated to a designated detention center.