Two sold-out concerts late last year at the Belgrade venue Elektropionir were a surprise for the band and organizer Stepan Kazaryan, a founder of the company Connected Agency.

With over a decade of experience organizing music festivals in Russia, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year, Kazaryan has turned to the scene in Serbia.

Gathering in exile

In March 2022, Kazaryan arrived in Serbia with the first wave of Russian migrants who had decided to leave their country, or rather were forced to do so by circumstances.

“The night before Russian troops entered Ukraine, a few of us were sitting in a bar talking about whether war would actually happen,” he recalled. “I knew then that I would leave [Russia] if it came to that. But it was not easy to do. Just one day later, in a pause between panic attacks, my then-girlfriend, now wife, and I bought tickets to Belgrade and flew off on March first.”

A political scientist by education, Kazaryan was aware of the limited options available. It did not take long for him to choose Belgrade. The difficult decision about his move was complicated by his work. After dozens of concerts and festivals organized in Russia and a series of canceled events originally scheduled for 2022, he found himself in a partially familiar environment working in Serbia but without clear plans or job security.

“Immediately after we arrived in Belgrade, we were depressed because of the situation,” he said. “I knew I had to start working, and since I already knew some bands from the region, it was not hard for me to get in touch with the local scene. Already in the summer we started organizing smaller gigs in Belgrade.”

Connected Agency found its place on the map of Belgrade’s alternative stages in the first half of October, when the Changeover Music Festival took place.

The festival hosted bands from 19 countries to perform at popular venues, including Drugstore and the Dom Omladine. However, the festival didn’t come together completely smoothly because many musicians were hesitant to perform alongside Russian acts.

Outrage at the fullscale Russian invasion of Ukraine has created a strong anti-Russian backlash, particularly in Western Europe and the United States. Calls to sanction Russia politically and economically have shifted into broader arguments against Russian arts, culture and sports. Anti-Putin or anti-war Russian musicians, many of whom have fled Russia, have found themselves caught up in this cultural shift.

Nationalizing art and canceled concerts

When the Russian band Ploho released their new album last year and began preparation for a tour, the new political and cultural reality confronted them at a German airport. The group’s tickets to Mexico, where they had several scheduled gigs, were canceled by Lufthansa on the grounds that current policy requires them to not transport Russian citizens.

Russian post-punk echoes in Serbia

How members of Russia's alternative scene found a new beginning in Serbia.

Milica Joksimović

Russian post-punk echoes in Serbia

How members of Russia's alternative scene found a new beginning in Serbia.

Milica Joksimović