Piknik (Пикник / Picnic) is a Soviet and Russian rock band formed in Leningrad in 1978. The musicians themselves consider the true starting point of the current band to be the arrival of lead vocalist and composer Edmund Shklyarsky.
In April 2017, Shklyarsky was entered into the database of Myrotvorets for intentional violation of the state border of Ukraine, denial of Russian aggression, and touring in Russian-occupied Crimea. The band members dismissed criticism of their Crimea concerts with cynical indifference:
...We don't give a damn about sanctions at all. Politics comes and goes, but life remains...
In childhood, there was a common phrase: 'If only there were no war.' And I stand for that. All values are purely academic when the cannon fire begins – you don't care about anything else, and that phrase never loses its relevance.
Whenever we come to Crimea, there are always fireworks, people stroll around just like on the seaside promenade in Cannes. One can only rejoice that the people are in such a positive spirit.
On March 22, 2024, at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, where a sold-out concert of the band Piknik was scheduled to take place, a devastating terrorist attack occurred. The band's concert director stated that the band members themselves were unharmed.
Edmund Shklyarsky’s (Piknik) Position on the War in Ukraine
The leader of Piknik, Edmund Shklyarsky, never publicly condemned the war, preferring to pretend that nothing out of the ordinary was occurring.
In May 2023, pro-Kremlin writer and military propagandist Zakhar Prilepin wrote on his Telegram channel that Shklyarsky «quietly transferred the necessary funds to repair vehicles» for humanitarian supply operators working on the frontlines in the special military operation zone. This donation was independently confirmed by "humanitarian aid commander" Yury Mezinov on his Telegram channel.
The artist himself refrained from commenting on these revelations: neither confirming nor denying them.
In March 2024, Shklyarsky released a pro-war propaganda music video in collaboration with Sergey Galanin (frontman of the group SerGa).
The band actively tours across Russia, headlines festivals, and pays blood-stained rubles in tax revenues to the state budget of the Russian Federation.
они поют о добре и глубинном зле . Нельзя смотреть на это сражение сверху или сбоку
сочувствие близким погибших - это прежде всего их трагедия
По факту пікнік підтримує кривавого диктатора ... Повне розчарування