Thorn1

I wrote about the complex situation facing all Russian musicians lately. Then I fed the text to an AI to produce a proper translation.

The Music Purge in Russia and How I Got Caught in the Crossfire

In 2026, the media landscape in Russia has become significantly more oppressive, affecting almost everyone. I am not just talking about the widespread internet shutdowns (with the exception of government-approved "white lists" of websites), the ban on entire social networks and messengers, or the prohibition of performing songs by dozens of "blacklisted" artists. Entire themes and metaphors have now fallen under the ban.

Under the pretext of fighting "drug propaganda," a systemic purge of the cultural space began in Russia on March 1, 2026. Any mention of drugs or related topics in songs and works of art is now forbidden. By imposing legal liability for song content on streaming platforms, the authorities have triggered a wave of automated censorship that has already erased both iconic classics and modern independent music. Words are vanishing from songs. Songs are vanishing entirely.

The Mechanism of Enforcement
Due to the ongoing war, Western streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal have not operated in Russia for several years. The market has been carved up by a few local giants, such as Yandex Music and Zvuk. New federal regulations have turned them into "proactive censors." Fearing astronomical fines, these platforms use AI and manual moderation to scrub any mention of prohibited substances.

Entire albums with "incorrect" titles and songs containing anything even remotely resembling a forbidden topic have gone under the knife. For example, in March, the discography of the rock band Agata Christie was removed; the albums only reappeared after "sanitization." Key words like "o***m" in the song "O***m for Nobody" were muted or cut out. Now, there is only silence in those parts of the tracks, and the song is simply titled "...for Nobody" — as is the album of the same name. Some artists have refused such editing, and their music is now completely unavailable in Russia.

It might sound like an exaggeration or a dark joke, but the works of children's author Dmitry Dragunsky were nearly banned because his last name sounds like the word "Drug" in Russian. The publishing house had to provide proof that it was a mistake and everything was above board.

Literalism vs. Art
One of the most critical consequences of this policy is the rejection of metaphor. Censors adhere to a strictly literal interpretation of lyrics, making no distinction between "propaganda" and artistic imagery.

A recent example is the blocking of my own track, which featured the lines:

"Our love got hooked on the needle, forget it"

Despite the obvious metaphor, the mere presence of the word "needle" in such a context now triggers an automatic violation. This track, which I wrote at 13 and finally recorded properly last year, is now gone from Russian streaming services. This "zero tolerance" approach effectively bans the use of the theme itself.

I will resolve this: I am preparing a version that the censorship will definitely clear, but the very existence of such censorship in 2026 is both shocking and disheartening.

Ultimately, this leads to self-censorship. A purging of back-catalogs is underway: artists are preemptively editing their archives to avoid being deleted from platforms. Songwriters are abandoning complex metaphors in favor of guaranteed distribution, leading to a "sterilization" of creativity. Small labels and independent musicians, lacking the resources for legal battles or expensive remastering, are simply disappearing from the digital space.

I hope the situation changes someday. For now, I am watching as we sink deeper and deeper.

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Official video for our cover of this beautiful song is out

“Awash a Sea Goodbye It’s Me” is a remarkable song by Jon DeRosa of that became, for us, an exploration of memory, emotional depth, and that fragile moment when the past washes away, leaving only an echo behind.

We tried to preserve the hypnotic atmosphere of Jon DeRosa’s original while adding our own emotions and sonic identity. This video is a visual extension of the music, filmed by us in Novi Sad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkCnnaMvdnQ

Credits:

Video:
Directed and Edited by: Pavel Fedosov, Evgeny Zheyda
Cinematography: Pavel Fedosov, Evgeny Zheyda

Audio:
Performance: Evgeny Zheyda, Pavel Fedosov
Production / Mixing: Evgeny Zheyda
Original: Aarktica (Jon DeRosa)

© 2026, Evgeny Zheyda, Pavel Fedosov

Thorn1, SAVL - Awash a Sea Goodbye It's Me | Official Video Official video for our cover of this beautiful song“Awash a Sea Goodbye It’s Me” is a remarkable song by Jon DeRosa that became, for us, an exploration of me...