Even music in the service of Russian propaganda in the war with Ukraine, Moscow is also ‘recruiting’ singers. One, in particular, stands out in the musical-patriotic panorama. The 31-year-old Shaman, born Yaroslav Dronov, appears to have earned the stripes of ‘official singer’ of the ‘special operation’ that Russian President Vladimir Putin launched in February 2022 by ordering the invasion of Ukraine and igniting the war that lasts for over 14 months.
Over the past year, Shaman has been churning out songs on repeat. All celebrate Russia, the nation’s history and roots. The titles of the songs available on YouTube – with digressions between pop and ballads – leave no room for too many doubts. “I’m Russian” boasts tens of thousands of views, with its clip alternating scenes in concerts – in which Shaman shows up in a 90s boy band look and blond dredds – and images linked to tradition, with endless fields of grain crossed by the artist who always exhibits a cross around his neck. The passage does not explicitly refer to the conflict, but claims the uniqueness of Russia as opposed to the West.
The war, on the other hand, had been the absolute protagonist a year ago when Shaman published ‘ВСТАНЕМ’, ‘Let’s get up’, with explicit thanks and tributes to the dead soldiers “who are now in heaven and are no longer with us”. The song was obsessively featured in state media. Shaman has become a constant presence in television programs, between interviews in which he told his story – which began with studies in a small town in the Tula region – and live performances in the main programs. In a show broadcast during the Christmas period, Shaman performed ‘Let’s get up’ in front of an audience of more or less well-known characters, including members of the armed forces. The videos are bouncing around YouTube, with thousands of enthusiastic comments. It’s no surprise, then, that Shaman got to share the stage with Putin in September last year at an event staged in Moscow to celebrate the annexation of the occupied territories in Ukraine. The singer, who was also given the honor of singing the national anthem, also crossed the border at the beginning of 2023, reaching Mariupol: in the city torn from Ukraine and symbol of the first phase of the war, he held a concert. Then, in Luhansk he visited the soldiers and performed for them.
Now, for a couple of days, he has released the video of his latest song, “Noi”. The song And the numbers prove him right. The video on YouTube is already traveling towards 2 million views, with the usual deluge of enthusiastic comments. Even if you don’t speak Russian, the symbolism and the images offer an eloquent picture: Shaman sings while walking – almost marching – on Red Square in Moscow, the clothes resemble a uniform and the armband with the colors of the flag adds a military touch .
On VK, the main Russian social network, the singer interacts with fans, “We, our ancestors and descendants, are the force that unites the country for a thousand years.” The song We, he writes, is the manifesto of “all those who speak and think in Russian, who live here and who consider our land their homeland. I decided to reveal the meaning of the song, in which I expressed my vision of idea of a national nation and our cultural heritage, right in the heart of the Russian capital. I sang ‘We’ and walked with the people on the ground of Red Square, past the battlements of the Kremlin to the Spasskaya Tower and St. Basil’s Cathedral The new video shows these eternal places as Russia itself. Russia is all of us.”
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