L'One (Levan Gorozia) is a Russian rap artist of Georgian descent, former member of the Black Star label, and founder of the group Marselle. Born on October 9, 1985, in Krasnoyarsk, and raised in Yakutsk.
Listening to this artist's tracks on official streaming platforms, social media, and other services indirectly contributes to financing the war — through taxes paid to the budget of the Russian Federation.
In December 2016, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) decided to ban the artist from entering Ukraine for a period of 3 years. The reason was his concert performances in Russian-occupied Crimea in November 2016. The rapper commented on the ban as follows:
Ukraine gave me a New Year's gift by banning my entry for three years. Thank you, and Happy New Year to you as well. I love my listeners in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Poltava. It's a pity we won't see each other. But you and I share the same blood. Make love, not war.
In November 2017, Levan Gorozia was listed in the database of the Mirotvorets website for unlawful concert activities in annexed Crimea.
L'One's stance on the war in Ukraine
With the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Levan Gorozia initially adopted a stance of tacit consent.
In May 2023, in an interview on his YouTube channel, L'One openly supported Russian aggression, stating that he wished for a Russian victory. He explained that he did not leave the country because he refused to "abandon his people," and that mentally he was in lockstep with the occupying forces:
When my friends are on one side of the barricades, I cannot allow myself not to stand in support of their actions... Until it is over, consider that I am sitting in the same trench alongside the person I used to play basketball with... I cannot allow myself not to support them. I define betrayal very distinctly.
The rapper also repeated Russian propaganda tropes regarding "defending our skies" and clearly articulated which side he supported, expressing an imperialistic stance:
Peaceful skies exist in places where there are people capable of securing them. That is my position. ...If you delve into this entire conflict, I don't want war to arrive on the doorstep of my home and my family. And that is my position. It [the war] must end with our side victorious, or it must end at the negotiating table.
He also declared that if 70-year-old Putin and 45-year-old Zelenskyy were to face each other in a fight, Putin would "unquestionably" win owing to his sports background.
2025 Interview
In July 2025, Levan Gorozia gave an interview to pro-Kremlin propagandist Luka Yebkov, in which he reaffirmed his support for Russia's actions, stating that he never considered emigrating and considered it his obligation to remain "with his lads."
Gorozia shared that close personal friends of his are among the fighters in the war, including a former basketball teammate. He openly wished victory for the Russian army:
To me, these lads are my lads. I want them to return home to their families, for peace to arrive, for us to return with a victory, for them to understand what and whom they are doing this for, and for them to feel that there are people standing behind them who support them.
They are there right now so that a drone doesn't crash into my house, so a missile doesn't strike here, and so that in Kursk, Donbas, Luhansk, and Belgorod, well, our people don't suffer...
The rapper confirmed that he provides material support to Russian military forces, although he prefers not to advertise it publicly:
I support them wholeheartedly; I try to do whatever I can... financially or tangibly, let's call it that. Yes, I don't boast about it or beat my chest, I don't run public fundraisers or anything. But what I can afford, I provide, helping to the extent of my personal capability.
He is registered on Roskomnadzor's Gosuslugi portal. This indicates that his public activities are officially monitored and regulated by the Russian state.
