Songs by several pro-war Russian singers disappeared from Spotify

Songs by several Russian singers who have been sanctioned for supporting Russia's war against Ukraine have disappeared from the Spotify streaming service. These include Oleg Gazmanov, Polina Gagarina, Shaman, Yulia Chicherina, Grigory Leps, the band Lyube, and some other singers. All of them support Russian leader Vladimir Putin's policies.

Earlier, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on many of these singers.

It is currently unknown whether the service itself removed the songs of pro-war Russian singers or whether it was the result of an external server hack. For reference: Spotify is the world's largest streaming service. It was founded in 2006 in Stockholm.

As of April 2024, the number of its users reached 615 million monthly. In 2015, Spotify abandoned its plans to enter Russia, yet the service was launched there five years later in July 2020. In April 2022, it stopped operating in Russia due to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Later, the company officially closed its Russian office.

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