Melnitsa on the war

«Melnitsa» (Мельница) is a Russian folk-rock band based in Moscow, formed on October 15, 1999, by former members of the disbanded folk group «Till Eulenspiegel». The lead vocalist, harpist, and principal songwriter of the collective is Helavisa (Natalia Andreevna O'Shea).

Helavisa’s (Melnitsa) Position on the War in Ukraine

Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Helavisa has never openly spoken out against the war. On February 24, 2022, the singer published an advice post concerning the assembly of an "emergency go-bag" and immediately promoted her upcoming tour across the Moscow region:

In light of today's news, I believe the most essential thing for everyone is to do whatever useful work depends on them without succumbing to panic. I personally compiled a checklist of items for an 'emergency go-bag' for friends on both sides of the border, as I unfortunately have firsthand experience of living under shelling, and I believe this is a helpful endeavor. And tomorrow we set off on our tour across the Moscow region, and we likewise believe we will be doing helpful and good things.

Helavisa subsequently continued her series of utilitarian posts, and on February 27, 2022, posted an update noting that her relatives and friends in Ukraine were "completely fine"... Is there truly a single Ukrainian for whom things were "completely fine" as missiles bombarded the country? The singer's soothing words seemed deliberately calibrated to imply that nothing horrific was happening, framing it merely as a "surgical military operation in which Ukrainian civilians will not suffer"... while emphasizing that "audiences in the Moscow suburbs are eagerly waiting for Helavisa."

Throughout Helavisa's subsequent promotional interviews, the subject of the war or the so-called "special military operation" is systematically skirted.

Helavisa’s 2025 Interview for RTVI

In February 2025, O'Shea gave an extensive interview to RTVI, in which she explicitly identified herself as an imperialist and asserted that she belongs to the "titular nation":

Naturally, I am an imperialist. Like anyone born in the USSR and belonging to the titular nation. We were all raised that way. In this case, by the way, I would use the term 'imperial person' rather than imperialist — meaning that I cannot be divorced from my imperial consciousness. It is an optic that I can choose to apply or not apply.

When asked whether relationships within her family altered after February 2022, the singer replied:

Certain less-conscious relatives of my husband kept asking me: 'Natasha, surely you have stopped giving concerts by now, haven't you?'. I told them: not in the slightest.... It is our conscious decision to continue working in Russia, because we know that our work is needed by the people.

The band «Melnitsa» continues to actively tour across cities of the Russian Federation, directly subsidizing the terrorist state through corporate tax revenues.