The crackdown evokes Soviet-era restrictions on the music scene, when Communist Party officials drove rock musicians deemed an ideological threat underground. Kreslina said the authorities were using “old, tried and tested Soviet methods” to crack down on musicians accused of overstepping. It remains unclear if the recent crackdown has been directed by the federal authorities or driven by overzealous local officials. “The artists whom they banned have a stronger, livelier, angrier electorate that is more convinced and reliable than that of Vladimir Putin’s,” Tolokonnikova said. “It’s about the artists who have faced this in the past and, I’m afraid, for those artists who might face this in the future.

Source: National Post December 07, 2018 13:18 UTC