Svetlana Surganova is a Russian singer, violinist, guitarist, and songwriter. From 1993 to 2002, she was a vocalist and violinist in the rock band "Nochnye Snaypery" (Night Snipers, alongside co-founder and lead singer Diana Arbenina). Currently, she heads the band "Surganova i Orkestr" (Surganova and Orchestra). She was born on November 14, 1968, in Leningrad.
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.
Svetlana Surganova’s Position on the War in Ukraine
Visiting Crimea and Blacklisting in Myrotvorets
In May 2016, in direct violation of Ukrainian law, Surganova visited annexed Crimea on a commercial flight from Saint Petersburg to Simferopol and returned to Russia two days later. This illicit trip resulted in an official ban on entering the territory of Ukraine for a duration of 3 years.
In December 2017, Surganova was listed in the Myrotvorets database for intentionally violating the State Border of Ukraine to enter Russian-occupied Crimea and participating in Russian propaganda activities directed against Ukraine.
Letters About War and Russia
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Surganova avoided commenting directly on her view of the so-called "special military operation", but over time the artist made it abundantly clear that she stands with Russia in the war. Throughout 2022, the singer published a cycle of 24 open letters dedicated to Russia, state patriotism, and her attitude toward current events.
It is impossible to simply take and cancel an entire country with all its vast resources and achievements across all fields. Economic sanctions can be answered with prudence, fortitude, and strength of spirit. We are the seeds of a new era. We have work to do.
In an era when times fracture, everyone has the choice and the right to remain on this land or leave it. Yet I sincerely hope that those who feel the need to depart, to teleport into a better future, will not have to shout that Russia is merely an appendix unnecessary to the civilized world, or renounce their Russian identity across all corners of media space.
In June 2023, in an interview with the state news agency RIA Novosti, Surganova commented on her letters:
Love is a foundational baseline setting, and if you possess it, then that includes love for the Motherland, love for your profession, for art, and for whatever you do. Our task, despite the entire complex, psychologically daunting situation, is to stay in harmony with oneself, to harmonize the environment through our creative work, not to sow panic, but on the contrary, to call upon people that if you remain devoted to your calling and to your Motherland, then inevitably truth and Victory will be ours.
Any military hostilities, special military operations, are, of course, a source of immense stress. And when people lack a clear understanding of why this forced situation came about, they begin to retreat and flee. It is primarily fear and a fundamental failure to grasp the core essence speaking in them. In that regard, I believe, lies a shortcoming of the state, governing institutions, and the mass media. A failure to communicate. That is why a certain portion of people decided to leave.
Public Support for Russia
In July 2022, she took part in Garik Sukachov's anti-emigration propaganda music video "Ya ostayus" (I'm Staying) alongside performers such as Sergey Shnurov ("Leningrad"), Vladimir Shakhrin ("Chaif"), Aleksandr F. Sklyar ("Va-Bank"), Oleg Garkusha ("Auktyon"), Sergey Galanin ("SerGa"), Sergey ‘Chizh’ Chigrakov ("Chizh & Co"), Evgeny Margulis ("Voskreseniye", "Mashina Vremeni"), Andrey Knyazev ("KnyaZz", "Korol i Shut"), Aya ("Gorod 312"), Masha Makarova ("Masha i Medvedi"), Vladimir and Sergey Kristovsky ("Uma2rmaH"), Maksim Kucherenko ("Undervud"), and others.
In August 2022, she performed at a state concert celebrating Russian National Flag Day at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
In April 2023, the band "Surganova i Orkestr" performed for recruits and volunteers at a Moscow military contract enlistment center.
Сурганова, мы когда-то любили твои песни, а теперь ты - настоящая на**стка. Можешь гордиться.