On October 12, the Minister of Culture of Mari El, Konstantin Ivanov, announced that a concert by "Nochnye Snipery" (Night Snipers) had been canceled. The next day, the group's soloist, Diana Arbenina, described the incident as "sabotage against a Russian citizen" on her Telegram channel.
The demand to cancel the concert of "Night Snipers" came from Gennady Zubkov, a member of the Communist Party faction in the legislative assembly of Mari El. He claimed that Arbenina had been supporting "Ukrainian Nazis" since 2014. He also mentioned that the performer had recorded a song in support of the Israeli army.
"In that case, how does the Ministry of Culture allow this group to tour?" the legislator asked rhetorically.
Zubkov did not clarify the connection between Ukraine and Israel. Reacting to his statements, Minister of Culture Konstantin Ivanov canceled the concert.
Diana Arbenina recorded a video message in which she called Yoshkar-Ola a "beautiful city" and promised to come there again while describing the actions of the local authorities as "unhonorable."
"I consider this canceled concert, this cancellation, as an act of sabotage against a citizen of the Russian Federation who lives in her own country, loves her country, loves her audience, and takes responsibility for what she promises. I have promised to come. And I will find out what happened and why you are behaving this way," Diana Arbenina said.
In April 2023, "Night Snipers" had their concerts canceled because of Arbenina's anti-war statements. At that time, authorities disrupted the group's performance in Cheboksary. Other artists with anti-war positions, such as "Mumiy Troll," GROT, and Animal Jazz, also had their tours canceled.
