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Russian Rock Band Picnic Returns to Stage After Moscow Terrorist Attack, Remains Apolitical as Pro-Kremlin Media Blames Ukraine

Russian rock band Picnic returns to the stage After Moscow terrorist attack, remaining apolitical as pro-Kremlin media blames Ukraine.

Now, 46 years after its formation, Picnic has grabbed more global attention than ever for tragic reasons: Its planned concert at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow became the site of a mass shooting last Friday (March 22), with at least 137 lives lost in the terrorist attack. Since then, some Russian media outlets have claimed that the band supported Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, suggesting this was one of the reasons that terrorist gunmen targeted the show. In fact, the band’s current frontman, Edmund Shklyarsky, who joined in 1981 as a guitarist and soon became Picnic’s main songwriter, has remained steadfastly apolitical since the terrorist attack.

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