Belarus updates its blacklist of artists — now with 179 positions. Who made it?
An updated list of artists whose songs are now forbidden from being performed at concerts and karaoke clubs has fallen into the hands of "Nasha Niva". For some reason, the Brest band "Dai Darogu!" was excluded, but Z-movement stars who ardently support Russia in the war were added.
Alyona Alyona and Slava. Photo: Instagram, "Komsomolskaya Pravda"
What kind of list is this?
The blacklist of artists returned after the 2020 protests. In 2023, for example, it included 87 names of singers and bands whose songs were banned at public events and in karaoke.
In January 2026, the list grew to 160 positions (including duplicates).
"Nasha Niva" has obtained an updated version of this document. It turns out that ideologues are not idle and continue to expand the blacklist: it now contains 179 positions.
Newcomers to the list
Who were the new additions to the list? Among Ukrainian artists, rapper Alyona Alyona (recorded as "Savranenko Alena") made it. She sings for Ukrainian soldiers and urges listeners to remove Russian music from their playlists.
Most of the additions to the list were Russian stars. These include the bands "Bratya Grimm," "Gradusy," and "Car-Man," rappers GONE.Fludd and L'one, singers Slava, Anzhelika Varum, Maruv, and Garik Sukachev.
Also included were the indie project "Radiogramma," cover band Discowox, electronic artists from Dvanov, and the bands "Chelovek Kotoryi" and Halt.
Even Russian TV presenters were included: Ivan Urgant and Ksenia Sobchak. Earlier, ideologues had already added Russian journalist Aleksey Pivovarov to the list.
@nashaniva Нечакана! У Беларусі пашырылі «чорны спіс» артыстаў — там ужо 179 пазіцый. Ёсць сюрпрызы #навіны #нашаніва
Removals and curiosities
Mysteriously, the Brest band "Dai Darogu!" disappeared from the list. Also removed were the bands "Agatha Christie," "VIA Gra," and "Masha i Medvedi," singers Kristina Orbakaite, Tina Karol, and Kristina Kosheleva, as well as Maxim Galkin.
In January, journalists drew attention to strange errors in the list: Jowwa instead of IOWA, N.R.N. instead of N.R.M., Sectet instead of Secret. Now they have been corrected, but new ones have been created.
For example, the list includes Belarusian singer Aleksey Gross — and his non-existent double Aleksey Ross. The same performers appeared twice due to the rearrangement of first and last names, as in the case of Leonid Agutin, Vera Brezhneva, and Svetlana Loboda, or due to different spellings, with "Instasamka" and Instasamka, "Oxxxymiron" and Oxxxymiron, "Face" and Face existing side-by-side.
Further confusion is introduced by stage names and real names, as in the case of Lolita Milyavskaya (twice on the list) and Nadezhda Dorofeeva (thrice on the list), as well as the absurdity with collectives and solo projects. The compilers of the list included "Potap and Nastya Kamenskikh" as three separate positions: Nastya, the duo itself, and Potap.
In January 2026, journalists believed that the presence of "Lincoln Park" (instead of Linkin Park) in the database was simply an error by uneducated officials. But in the March update, the ideologues clarified: Lincoln Park (Russia). This is a Belarusian-Russian tribute collective that performs songs by Chester Bennington and his band.
An interesting metamorphosis occurred with Rammstein. In the January list, they were simply listed as Rammstein under number 160. In the new March document, under number 170, their main hit was appended to their official name — Rammstein Du Hast. It remains a mystery whether the authorities decided to ban only one specific song or simply confused the track with the band's name.
It is also evident that the list was compiled hastily. At the end, several bands are entered in an arbitrary order instead of alphabetical.
Russians on the list: Z-patriots alongside voices of resistance
Among the 179 performers on the list, Russians lead. They occupy more than 100 positions.
Both clear opponents of Putin's regime and the war (Yuri Shevchuk, Boris Grebenshchikov, Noize MC, Oxxxymiron, Face, Monetochka, Pornofilmy), as well as absolutely Kremlin-loyal pop artists, rappers, and even Z-patriots, fell under the ban of Lukashenka's ideologues. Here are some of the most striking examples:
- Nikolay Baskov. In February 2022, he published a long text in support of the war, calling it a "peacekeeping operation" and "Russia's self-defense," and later transferred money to Russian servicemen and their families, for which he was put on a wanted list and sanctioned in Ukraine;
- "Gorky Park," once a legendary band, recently reunited with Aleksey Belov and Alexander Marshal. Marshal has been regularly traveling to Donbas since 2014 and states that their tour aims to "help the Motherland and the SMO";
- Rock musician Garik Sukachev — a veteran of the Z-movement. He participated in patriotic concerts in support of the war since 2014, gave "frontline" performances, and publicly boasted about helping participants in Russian aggression with money;
- Roma Zver and the band "Zveri" also made it to the list. In August 2023, soloist Roman Bilyk made one of the most resonant "flip-flops" in Russian show business: he deleted all anti-war posts and went to Donbas with a guitar to perform for Russian servicemen from the "Kaskad" battalion;
- Rapper L'one (Levan Gorozia). He remained silent for a long time but later openly supported Russian soldiers in an interview. He stated that Russia must win;
- Konstantin Burdaev now performs under the name "Bratya Grimm" (the other brother, Boris, left and does not support the war). Konstantin calls himself a "die-hard imperialist and great-power chauvinist," has a medal for performing for Russian servicemen in Syria, and propagates the war in Ukraine, regularly playing in hospitals for wounded occupiers;
- The Kristovsky brothers from the band "Uma2rman." For many years they have served pro-government Russian festivals, traveled to annexed Crimea (for which they have long been in the Ukrainian "Mirotvorets" database), and Vladimir Kristovsky visits recruitment points for contract soldiers for the war, wishing them "success in battle";
- Singer Slava. As early as spring 2022, she published photos with prop orders in support of the war, justified Russian aggression, and quarreled with Ukrainian musicians;
- The leader of the "Rondo" group, Alexander Ivanov, together with the collective, became one of the main faces of the musical marathon "Za Rossiyu," which from spring 2022 toured dozens of cities and gathered crowds under Z-symbols, and was involved in other actions in support of the Kremlin.
There are also those on the list who have not openly expressed a position, such as Regina Todorenko and Alexander Revva. Young Russian performers, for example, Dora and Grechka, are also included.
Mysteriously, the 90s pop group "Akhi-Vzdokhi" and the popular band "Bely Oryol" from the same era, whose members' positions are unknown, also appeared on the list.
Belarusians on the list
Many Belarusians are also on the list — from "Lyapis Trubetskoy," "Krambambulya," N.R.M., "Neyro Dyubel" to NaviBand, LiteSound, Uzari, and Timati Belarusian.
Many of them are known for their stance: some participated in the 2020 marches, like NaviBand, while others have been playing protest rock and openly criticizing Lukashenka and Putin since the mid-2010s, like Sergey Mikhalok. Some simply spoke out carelessly for the authorities in 2020, like Sasha Nemo.
In total, Belarusians occupy about 40 lines.
World stars and Ukrainian performers
Among world stars, only four are banned: Lady Gaga, Cher, Bono, and "Rammstein Du Hast." For some reason, some cover of a song from a Sonic game is also banned.
Ukrainian musicians are also on the list. About 30 lines are allotted to them. But the actual number is smaller because many were listed two or even three times. For example, Nadezhda Dorofeeva was banned thrice.
As a result, in the Ukrainian block, both voices of Ukrainian resistance ("Okean Elzy," Jamala, Alyona Alyona) and performers who remained silent about the war or continued to work in the Russian Federation (Regina Todorenko, Anna Sedokova, Maruv) stand side by side. Also banned are Max Barskih, Ivan Dorn, Artem Pivovarov, Monatik, "Griby," Verka Serduchka, and Sofia Rotaru.
Overall, it gives the impression that the list was compiled according to the tastes of officials, rather than clear logic.
The total number of actual artists, in our observation, is about 150 people, excluding all duplicates.
List of banned musicians in Belarus
Here is the full list as it came to us:
- 2Mashi
- Agutin Leonid
- AIGEL duo
- Akvarium
- Aleksey Ross
- Aleksey Gross
- Aleksey Zavgorodsky (Pozitiv)
- Aleksey Khlestov
- Allen Khit
- Artyom Pivovarov
- Aleksey Pivovarov
- Aloe Vera
- Anzhelika Agurbash
- Anna Netrebko
- Anna Sharkunova
- Arbenina Diana
- Artur Pirozhkov (Revva Alexander)
- Akhi-Vzdokhi
- Barskih Maks
- Baskov Nikolay
- BASTA (Vakulenko Vasily)
- Bely Oryol
- Bianka
- Bi-2
- Biggiz Nikolay (artist "Nuffsaid")
- Bogdan Titomir
- Bratya Grimm
- Brezhneva Vera
- Valeriy and Konstantin Meladze
- Varum Anzhelika
- Vasilyev Aleksandr (artist "Splin")
- Vasya Oblomov
- Vera Brezhneva
- Verka Serduchka
- VIA Slivki
- Garik Sukachev (Sukachev Igor)
- Grebenshchikov Boris
- Gradusy
- Grechka
- Griby
- Gryaz
- Dantes
- Dasha Dorofeeva
- Danya Melokhin
- DDT
- Jamala
- Jaro i Khanza
- Jay Morse
- Dmitry Voityushkevich
- Dmitry Koldun
- Dora (Shikhanova Darya)
- Zalpom
- Zveri
- Zemfira
- Ivan Dorn
- Inna Afanasyeva
- Instasamka
- Iskui Abalyan
- Kaver-Supersonik
- Kamenskikh Nastya
- Kar-Men
- Kasta
- Kovalenko Evgeny
- Koroleva Natasha
- Krama
- Krambambulya
- Krovostok
- Ksenia Sitnik
- Lightsound
- Larisa Gribaleva
- Leonid Agutin
- Leningrad
- Leonidov Maksim
- Leprikonsy
- Ligalaiz
- Lipnitsky Alexander (artist "Zvuki Mu")
- Lolita
- Loboda Svetlana
- Lyapis Trubetskoy
- LSP
- Makarevich Andrey
- Max Korzh
- Max Lorens
- Manizha
- Mashina Vremeni
- Milyavskaya Lolita
- Monatik
- Monetochka
- Morgenshtern
- Mumiy Troll
- Musya Totibadze
- Nadya Dorofeeva
- Naiv
- Nayk Borzov
- Naka
- Nargiz (Zakirova Nargiz)
- Nevadatripp
- Neyro Dyubel
- Nervy
- Neschastny Sluchay
- Nikita Alekseev
- Nikolaenko Yuri (NЮ)
- Nogu Svelo
- Noize MC
- Odin v Kanoe
- Okean Elzy
- Oxxxymiron
- Olga Plotnikova
- Olga Satsyuk
- Operatsiya Plastilin
- Palats
- Pokrovsky Maks (artist "Nogu svelo!")
- Park Gorkogo
- Polina Smolova
- Pornofilmy
- Potap and Nastya Kamenskikh
- Potapenko Aleksey (Potap and Nastya Kamenskikh)
- Poshlaya Molly
- Pryanichny Domik
- Radiogramma
- Rondo
- Sasha Nemo
- Svetlana Loboda
- Sedokova Anna
- Serebro
- Slepakov Semyon
- Sobchak Ksenia
- Spivakov Vladimir
- Splin
- Skriptonit
- Strykalo
- Slava
- Sofia Rotaru
- Tarakany
- Testo
- Temnikova Elena
- Tima Belorusskikh
- Todorenko Regina
- Tyani-Tolkai
- Total
- Face
- Urgant Ivan
- Uma2rman
- Chelovek kotoryi
- Shevchuk Yuri
- Cher
- Elizium
- Uzari
- Alyona Alyona (Savranenko Alena)
- Anacondaz
- Animal JaZ
- Bono (Paul David Hewson)
- Discowox
- Dorofeeva (Nadezhda Dorofeeva)
- Dvanov
- Face (Dremon Ivan)
- GONE.Fludd (Alexander Smirnov)
- Halt
- IC3PEAK
- Instasamka (Zoteeva Darya)
- Intelligency
- Lady Gaga
- Lincoln Park (Russia)
- Little Big
- Louna
- Lumen
- N.R.M
- Navi Band
- Oxxxymiron (Oksimiron, Mironov Fedor)
- Rammstein Du Hast
- RASA
- Rock Privet (Russia)
- Secret
- Shortparis (Short Pari)
- Therr Maitz
- Quest Pistols
- L'one
- Maruv
- Iowa
Comments