Spotify removes music by pro-war Russian artists

In March 2022, Spotify announced that they’d be fully suspending their service in Russia amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Now, the streamer is cracking down on the songs and profiles of pro-war Russian artists by pulling their music entirely from the platform.

The Moscow Times reports that the Russian artists affected include the band Lyube, as well as singers Grigory Leps, Oleg Gazmanov, Polina Gagarina and Shaman, among others.

“Platform Rules clearly state that we take action when we identify content which explicitly violates our content policies or local laws,” reads a statement from Spotify. “Upon review, these artists met the threshold for removal.”

Though Spotify did not specify which content violated their policies, a few of the affected artists have been under EU sanctions since the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Gagarina and Shaman, however, appeared on a recent list of names released by the body. The document claims both have participated in pro-war events sponsored by the Russian government, noting that both Shaman (Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov) has also “given concerts in the illegally occupied regions of Ukraine, including as part of troop entertainment events for the Russian Armed Forces.”

Meanwhile, Gagarina is alleged to have “generated significant revenue” from state-sponsored events celebrating the annexation of Ukrainian regions under Moscow’s partial control. Sanctioned individuals are subject to restrictive measures such as asset freezes and travel bans.

In 2020, Spotify launched services in Russia, but shut down its operations in the country altogether, citing a law imposed by the Kremlin that made it a criminal offence to describe the Ukrainian conflict as a war started by Russia.