Nikolay Rastorguev, singer and leader of the band “Lyube”
Nikolay Rastorguev
Nikolay Rastorguev, Russian singer, People’s Artist of Russia and leader of Putin’s favourite band “Lyube,” supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Even at the beginning of the full-scale war, he published on his social networks a photo of the Russian occupier against the background of tanks and added a poem by the Russian Galina Vertiyeva, which begins with the phrase “Russia does not start wars, it ends them.”
He went on to say that Russia “had no choice” but to invade Ukraine with weapons. The singer repeated the Kremlin’s rhetoric about “Donbas, which has been bombed for 8 years” and the need to “disarm Ukraine so that there is nothing to bomb.”
In March 2022, the singer emphasised that Russia was allegedly “completing its duty”, while also stating that it was necessary to attack Ukraine even earlier. Against this background, he cynically stated that the Ukrainians are not Russians’ enemies but that the Russian military strikes only military facilities in Ukraine. These words were said when the Russians had already seriously shelled many Ukrainian settlements, buried peaceful Ukrainians under rubble, tortured civilians, mocked peaceful people and shot them, which is confirmed by numerous facts from Bucha, Irpin, Borodianka and other cities and villages.
He stated that those Russians who did not support the war simply “did not fully understand something.”
The band “Lyube” has repeatedly performed “to support morale” in front of the Russian occupiers who are fighting in Ukraine. He also often came with concerts to the occupied regions of Donbas.
Main statements
1. He published a poem on the social network that begins with the words: “Russia does not start wars, it ends them” (26 February 2022):
2. At a concert in Luzhniki, he supported Putin and Russia’s war “against Nazism” (18 March 2022):
3. He stated that the Russian Federation had no other choice, but it came to the defence of Donbas and allegedly destroyed only military targets in Ukraine (19 March 2022):
4. He repeatedly spoke on the temporarily occupied territories and visited the occupiers in hospitals to express his support:
