Protect young women and queer artists in Russia!

Repression of cultural expression in Russia

After a video went viral in October 2025 of the underground rock band, Stoptime, performing a banned anti-war song by the exiled rapper Noize MC in a St Petersburg square amidst a large group of chanting young Russians, the band members were arrested and sentenced to thirteen days in prison. Over the following month, Stoptime’s lead singer Diana Loginova, known as Naoko, and the band’s guitarist Alexander Orlov faced a series of immediate re-arrests upon release. Following these “carousel arrests”, both Naoko and Orlov fled Russia on 23 November.

Due to laws passed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the public expression of criticism of the Russian authorities abroad, like performing songs by artists the Kremlin deems ‘foreign agents’, can be punished with prison sentences up to fifteen years. This repression of cultural expression not only instills fear and self-censorship among the Russian youth, but also disproportionately affects LGBTQIA+ people and allied artists who appear especially vulnerable to harassment and smear campaigns. 

Hermanas Rosas (Pink Sisters)

In response to the increasing repression of queer people in Russia, activists in Barcelona founded Hermanas Rosas in 2024 to provide a small mutual-aid and information network which offers support to Russian-speaking young women and LGBTQIA+ people – whether in Russia, in transit or in exile. Led by Russian-speaking queer women with forced-displacement experience, Hermanas Rosas aims to connect young women and queer people to legal and health-care resources and foster a supportive ecosystem around artistic freedom and human rights across borders while minimizing their unnecessary exposure to risks. Since then, the activists have gained a significant online following for their practical safety-first videos (covering topics from legal basics to digital security hygiene) and have launched an anonymous hotline which has handled over 100 consultations.

We sing for Naoko!

To support Naoko, but also women and queer youth in Russia alike, the Pink Sisters organized a peaceful action in the center of Barcelona in November 2025 with the support of Het Actiefonds. In the central Plaça Catalunya, the activists raised awareness about the marginalization of minority communities and artists in Russia, by waving banners, distributing flyers and performing acoustic songs and readings. The action was also streamed and further reported on online, attracting thousands of people on the internet and sparking discussions about artistic freedom and repression.

Het Actiefonds is proud to have supported this action and stands in solidarity with Russian artists and marginalized communities criticizing their war-hungry and repressive government.