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The musicians from “stoptime” have left Russia. This was reported by Fontanka.

It was first reported that the vocalist Diana Loginova (Naoko) had left, followed by guitarist Alexander Orlov and drummer Vladislav Leontyev. The musicians themselves and their relatives have not commented on the situation so far, while their lawyers are limiting themselves to the phrase “they are safe.”

The day before, Loginova and Orlov were released after their latest arrest, and law enforcement secretly transported them from the detention facility to another district to prevent the artists from meeting journalists. Vladislav Leontyev, the band’s drummer, had already been released from the detention facility on 9 November.

  • The musicians were first arrested on 16 October for performing anti-war songs and tracks by “foreign agents” on the street.
  • After serving their first detention, a “carousel” began—several back-to-back administrative detentions of the same person. This is a scheme frequently used by Russian law enforcement before opening a criminal case.
  • In several cities, local artists performed to support “stoptime”; they were also persecuted for this. At the same time as Loginova and Orlov, street singer Yekaterina Romanova was released from a detention facility in Perm, a large city in the Urals. She had spent 22 days in detention—serving seven days of arrest for refusing to undergo a drug test, and another 15 days for charges of disobeying the police. The real reason was her performance in support of “stoptime.”