A group of Ukrainian activists has succeeded in cancelling a series of planned concerts by the Russian music group Kedr Livanskiy in eight European cities: London, Manchester, Brussels, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Prague, Paris, and Berlin. The band supports the Russian regime and participates in events sponsored by the Russian government.
The concerts were cancelled at a number of European clubs: Rust in Copenhagen, Soup in Manchester, Peckham Audio and The Jago in London, La Boule Noir in Paris, Prive in Tallinn, Klubovna in Prague and Berghain in Berlin.
The initiative began with independent actions by activists in different cities, who later coordinated their efforts. ‘A friend from Germany told me about the band's planned tour,’ an activist from Berlin told LB.ua. ’I wrote to my musician friend, and together we found the emails of all the promoters and started sending letters to the venues where the concerts were to take place. Then other activists from other cities who saw this independently of us joined in.’ She also noted that the reaction of some venues was immediate: ’The Copenhagen venue responded in literally half an hour, apologised and removed everything.’
‘I was personally ready to protest in London, and that was the central element of the plan, not just social media. A couple of friends in London supported me, and we were serious about it — that's what gave the first post its full power, and then it spread, gaining momentum,’ said one of the activists.
In response to the cancellation of concerts, Yana Kedrina, a member of the musical group Kedr Livanskiy, stated that her performances were cancelled ‘because of my nationality and because I live in Russia. For performing here and for not abandoning my country.’ However, activists emphasise that the reason for the cancellation is not her nationality, but her failure to clearly condemn Russian aggression, her performances at events sponsored by the Russian government and at the Mutabor club, which belongs to Russian oligarchs close to Putin. In particular, this refers to events financed by the Russian Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, which focuses on military propaganda for young people. On the fund's official website, its projects are described as aimed at integrating the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine ‘into a single cultural, educational, enlightenment and civilisational space’.