Exile tour. Naoko of Stoptime street band performs in Lithuania with Noize MC and Monetochka after weeks in jail for playing their songs in St Petersburg

Loginova and Orlov left Russia on November 23 following a series of “carousel arrests”—a practice where detainees are re-arrested immediately upon release. They faced multiple administrative charges for “organising a mass presence of citizens” due to their street performances in St Petersburg, where they covered songs by artists opposed to the war and the Russian government.

Naoko had previously faced police protocols for “discrediting” the Russian army specifically for performing Noize MC’s music over her performance of the song “Svetlaya Polosa” (“Bright Streak”); in the case file, police included a quote from the rapper’s social media, where a listener wrote that they played the track in Kyiv during a Russian drone attack and felt the artist’s support. They were also prosecuted for performing “Ty Soldat” (“You’re a Soldier”) by Monetochka.

Both Noize MC and Monetochka now live in exile after being branded “foreign agents”.

St Petersburg street band Stoptime participants were first detained on October 15. The following day, the court imposed the first jail terms, sentencing Loginova and drummer Vladislav Leontyev to 13 days of administrative arrest each, while Orlov received 12 days. Immediately upon their release on October 29, Loginova and Orlov were re-arrested and sentenced to another 13 days. Leontyev was sentenced to a second term of 12 days; he was eventually released after serving these two consecutive sentences.

Police detained Naoko and the guitarist again at the exit of the detention centre on November 10, sentencing them to a third consecutive 13-day term. Following their release from this third arrest, Loginova and Orlov made the decision to leave the country.

On October 29, Alexander Orlov proposed to Loginova in court.