A Russian court on Tuesday found Soviet rock legend and Kremlin critic Yury Shevchuk guilty of “discrediting” the Russian military after he condemned Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine.
He received the maximum fine of 50,000 rubles ($815), the press service of the court in the center of the city of Ufa reported in the Telegram messenger.
The court said that during his concert, Shevchuk made a speech that contained “public appeals to prevent the use of the Russian Armed Forces,” the statement added.
Shevchuk did not personally attend the meeting due to the quarantine due to the coronavirus, but submitted a written statement with a lawyer.
“I, Yury Shavchuk, have always been against war, in any country, at any time… I believe that all problems and difficulties of a political nature between countries and people should be resolved diplomatically,” the statement reads.
The frontman of the 1980s Soviet rock band DDT, Shevchuk has been a public critic of President Vladimir Putin for years and opposed Ukraine’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
On May 18, the 65-year-old performer told his audience in Ufa that, according to videos published on the Internet, “you should not lick and kiss the president’s ass.”
“People are being killed in Ukraine now. why? Guys are dying in Ukraine. Why?” he said to the cheering crowd.
