MOSCOW, April 10, Yulia Zachetova. Many Russian musicians visited the special operation zone — they performed for the front line soldiers, in hospitals, gave concerts for residents of new territories. Why our artists are not afraid of bullets and how the locals take them — in the material .
SHAMAN
As part of a large solo tour in the regions of Russia, the popular singer SHAMAN gave charity concerts in Novorossia in 2023: in Mariupol, Lugansk and Genichesk, as well as in several hospitals and military units.
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"I met the heroes of my songs,” says the artist. — With people who, at the cost of incredible efforts and daily feat, defended the right to say: «I am Russian.» It is impossible to forget the eyes of the audience, full of tears of joy at the performance of the Russian anthem.
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"When together with the team we went on a tour of Novorossia, I had lines that later became the song "We", says SHAMAN. “In Luhansk, right during the concert, I asked the audience — and these were soldiers of our army, militiamen, volunteers, doctors, relatives of servicemen and ordinary citizens — to shout this word.”
Special equipment in the hall recorded the voices of thousands residents of Donbass.
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“The studio version of the composition begins with them, and a fragment of the recording is played at each of my solo concerts as part of the new tour program“I am Russian,” the singer adds. — By the way, the premiere of the video "We" will take place very soon: April 12".
The artist wanted the audience in Lugansk, Mariupol and Genichesk to see the same concert as the residents of any other city in Russia. explains SHAMAN. “And judging by how many times they called for an encore, I succeeded.”
When asked if it was scary to perform in the NWO zone, the singer replies:
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"It's scary — when no one is interested in you and no one comes to your concerts. And when the audience is waiting for you, thousands of fans, you only think about preparing for the performance. So that everything goes exactly as you planned.
Grigory Leps
Grigory Leps visited the NVO zone many times with concerts and brought humanitarian aid. He devoted several songs to the military operation. The composition «I'll be with you» was performed at the famous Donbass monument Saur-Mogila. And he addressed the soldiers on the front line with the song «Thank you, guys!». 
The musician's director Vladimir Uryupin notes:
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«Everything that Grigory thinks about the SVO, he expresses it in deeds, not in words.»
Ilya Bachurin and artists of Mosconcert
Since December 2022, the Mosconcert Cultural Brigade team has been coming to the DPR and LPR with programs every month.
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"We gave more than a hundred concerts in military units, hospitals, cultural centers and on the front line — a hundred meters from the front line, — says Ilya Bachurin, general director of the Mosconcert. “Direct contact through art is the most valuable thing on such trips.”
Soloist of the Mosconcert, Honorary Art Worker of Moscow Irina Sukhanova drew attention to the fact that in Mariupol, children and adults do not have despondency, but there is hope.
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"Both on the front line and everywhere there was a feeling that we were a single whole. It’s impossible to forget, you come back a different person,” the artist admits.
Soloist Pavel Bykovadds that he and his colleagues «seem to have become participants in stories that were once read in books. The same solidarity, excitement, enthusiasm and confidence that everything will turn out.»
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» We felt proud of the artists. The very opportunity to see what is happening with your own eyes is very valuable,” explains Svetlana Potemkina, editor of the Mosconcert. “At such moments you understand what the peacekeeping mission of art really looks like and what results it gives.”
Vadim Samoilov
The ex-soloist of the Agatha Christie group Vadim Samoilov has been visiting Donbass since 2015.
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“A clear change that has happened to me is a rethinking of the importance of life,” he says. — It is also significant that I was going to perform not just as a musician, but as a kind of Russian ambassador. This experience of responsibility was very valuable.
In his repertoire, songs appeared about the Donbass, about life in war conditions, about the fact that everyone has a choice — to remain human or not.
On one of his trips, Samoilov encountered a problem : someone released the phone numbers of artists from Russia. Citizens of Ukraine started calling Vadim.
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"I tried to have a dialogue, to explain our position, but from the other side the reaction was hysterical, — the rocker recalls. — Then they began to send photos of our captured and killed soldiers, accompanying this with mockery. This was the last straw. I said that this is what we differ from them: we don’t dance on bones.
The singer believes that singing for civilians and for soldiers is not the same thing.
“< p>“Before the SVO, I spoke to the residents of Donbass on Miner’s Day, Victory Day,” says Samoilov. “These are people who defended their cities. Singing is a great spiritual experience for them.»
When Vadim speaks to the soldiers, he does not think about what awaits them in battle.
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«My task is to inspire them to feat, — says the artist. “I don't think of them as living or dead. It is generally not customary to talk about these topics. It is clear that anything can happen to anyone.
Valentina Lisitsa
Her entire adult life was spent in the West — in the USA, France, Italy. But with the beginning of the SVO, according to Valentina, “everything turned upside down, everything became clear.”
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“I was engaged in career advancement, in search of success,” says the pianist, artist of the Mosconcert. — Entertained people with her art. And suddenly I realized that all this is vanity".
Lisitsa recalls that for the first time she went to the Donbass «as a mysterious guest — in the status of an American pianist of Ukrainian origin with a worldwide reputation.» But for her, it was a return home, to her own.
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«It felt incredibly poignant,» she admits. — Warmth and kindness — even from random strangers. Some kind of sixth sense told them who was theirs and who was a stranger.»
According to Valentina, going to the war zone was not scary.
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“It’s a shame to be afraid,” the pianist emphasizes. — We, the artists, come with concerts, and people have been living there for many years. This is probably what Bulgakov had in mind — «a person is not just mortal, but suddenly mortal.»
Most of all, the artist was struck by the Donbass children.
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“I play a concert, people sit, listen, and a couple of girls, to the music, staged a real ballet right on the stage next to me,” she says. — Touching to the point of tears. Children, who probably saw ballet only on TV or on a chocolate wrapper, hear Tchaikovsky and start dancing.
Maria Andreeva
Laureate of international musical festivals in Vienna, Berlin and the USA, Maria Andreeva left Europe, took the violin and went to the Donbass. She herself believed that in this act «there is nothing special — I just arrived, I just played the violin.»
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“But the impact was amazing,” says the performer, an artist of the Mosconcert. — In Mariupol, Shakhtersk, Starobilsk, people listen with bated breath, bursting into grateful applause. There I realized what unity with the people is. ratio=»0.75″ data-crop-width=»600″ data-crop-height=»450″ data-source-sid=»rian_photo» class=»lazyload» width=»1920″ height=»1440″ decoding=» async» />
Andreeva notes that her relatives were very afraid for her, but she herself did not feel fear.
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«In Mariupol, we were warned not to approach the side of the road: mines,» the violinist recalls. — In Shakhtyorsk, we performed on the Day of Russia, then Donetsk was heavily shelled. Arrived in Shakhtersk when we had already left. On the last trip, we were only a few hundred meters from the enemy.»
She especially remembers the houses in Mariupol, the partially destroyed zoo, and how people take care of the rescued animals. Wounded soldiers approached and asked for pages with read poems, while they themselves gave roses drawn on paper. I will forever remember spending the night on the floor at the location of the battery and the seriousness with which the fighters listened to the violin, impassable dirt and knee-deep dirt when moving from one position to another.
And yet — the consciousness that you people need it.