Hundreds of young Russians gathered in a square in the center of St. Petersburg on the night of Oct. 14 to defy censorship by performing a banned song that calls (in barely veiled terms) for the overthrow of Vladimir Putin. The crowd gathered on Nevsky Prospect throughfare to sing "Swan Lake Cooperative" by exiled rapper Noize MC, which was outlawed in May when judicial authorities labeled it "extremist." The song title refers to the practice in Soviet times of suspending all regular TV and radio broadcasts to play Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" continuously whenever the old leader died or was deposed and the transition to a new one was underway. The lyrics go: "The old man still clings to his throne... When the czar dies, we'll dance again, 'Swan Lake' on every screen... I want to watch the ballet... Let the old man shake in fear..."

Russia's Justice Ministry labelled Noize MC (real name Ivan Alexeyev) a "foreign agent" in November 2022. He had fled to Lithuania earlier that year, with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He continues to produce his music in Lithuanian exile.

The peformance on Nevsky Prospect was led by 18-year-old singer Diana Loginova, stage name Naoko, and a small ensemble. After a video of the peformance went viral, she was arrested. The band's drummer and guitarist were also questioned but later released. Loginova could face charges of "discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces and organizing an unauthorized public event, punishable by prison. (TVP World, TVP World, The Independent)

See our last report on resistance and repression in Russia.