Footage shows the moment Russian police attempt to break up a music concert after the pianist played music by a Ukrainian composer.
Alexei Lyubimov continued to perform the works of Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov before officers stormed the stage at the show in Moscow.
According to a Telegram shared by Russian independent news channel Meduza, Lyubimov and singer Yana Ivanilova largely devoted the show to Silvestrov’s music.
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When officers stormed the stage, the pianist was playing a song by Austrian composer Franz Schubert.
As is shown in the footage, he was able to finish his performance as officers stood over him, leading to a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd.
Authorities claim the reason they disrupted the show was because of an anonymous bomb threat.
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Sergey Vasiliev, associate professor of international criminal law at the University of Amsterdam, shared the powerful clip on Twitter.
“Civic resistance through culture: The antiwar piano concert of Alexei Lyubimov & Yana Ivanilova ‘Songs against the Time’ in the Culture Center ‘Rassvet’ in Moscow was raided by the police officers saying the building was mined,” he said. “But everyone knew why; that's quite an applause!”
Dozens of people have spoken about the moment on Twitter, with one writing: “The reason was ‘an anonymous bomb threat’.
"You can forbid playing and disrupt concerts, but you will never be able to forbid the love of Ukrainian art.”
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Another described it as ‘Stalinism in full swing’, adding: “Unless something snaps, the regime is bringing down all of Russia’s society!”
“Soon they will start to burn books,” said a third, with another calling Lyubimov a ‘hero’.
Russian independent media has faced even stricter censorship laws since Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine, which started on 24 February.
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The Kremlin passed a law criminalising any public opposition or news reporting that doesn’t support Putin’s narrative on the conflict, and media outlets are not even permitted to describe it as an ‘invasion’ or ‘war’ – it must instead be called a ‘special military operation’.
The ruling aims to punish the distribution of what it describes as ‘fake news’, and those convicted face up to 15 years in jail.
Numerous independent news outlets have been forced to shut down in recent weeks, perhaps the most symbolic of all being the closure of Russia’s liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow), which went into liquidation after a state censorship watchdog ordered its website to be blocked.
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The station was considered a beacon of truth, having survived the Soviet Union’s dying days even as Russia took an authoritarian turn.
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Topics: Ukraine, Russia, World News, Music
Daisy Phillipson