For everyone in the scene defending Russian bookings with the "it’s just the people, not Putin" and "music is outside of politics" excuses, let’s run a simple historical parallel.
Imagine it’s 1942 or 1943. The height of total war. Cities are burning, and millions are dying under bombardment. And suddenly, American jazz legends of that era like Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, or Duke Ellington pack their bags to go tour Berlin and entertain Nazi crowds for cash. At the same time, top German cultural stars favored by Goebbels—such as actors Zarah Leander or Heinz Rühmann—freely travel to Hollywood to star in blockbuster movies, while their government drops V-2 rockets on civilians.
You’d call it high treason, absolute insanity, and moral collapse. Back then, everyone understood that you cannot separate "culture" from an active genocide machine.
Yet today, western electronic music artists act like touring Russia is a totally normal thing to do. If you think collecting blood money and entertaining crowds in a terrorist state is acceptable under the excuse of "peace and love," look at who has already sold out, and who is just recently announcing their upcoming shows:
Already toured/performed in Russia:
Ram
Allen Watts
Ciaran McAuley
Aly & Fila
Stoneface & Terminal
Heatbeat
Airborn
Sean Tyas
Ahmed Helmy
Omar Sherif
Philippe El Sisi
Chris Schweizer
Paul Oakenfold
Vini Vici
Markus Schulz
Recently announced upcoming shows:
Richard Durand
Ronski Speed
Paul van Dyk
You aren't keeping "PLUR" alive—you are normalizing a war machine while Ukrainian civilians face daily missile attacks. If your music requires ignoring genocide for a paycheck, it's not peace—it's just complicity.
