Instead of Roads – Uplifting Songs

The authorities of the Stavropol region explained the expenditure of 15 million rubles on a concert by Shaman by citing his “uplifting songs” and “patriotic repertoire.” However, they did not explain how the songs would improve the quality of the roads.

Local residents asked to cancel the concert and use the money to lay asphalt and repair the roads. But the local authorities seem to prioritize cave-like, uplifting patriotism over actual road construction.

“The choice of the artist Shaman for the celebration of Stavropol Day and the region is due to the patriotic nature of his repertoire and the uplifting songs he performs, which have a current resonance,” the Stavropol Region Ministry of Culture stated.

For 15 million rubles, Shaman fueled patriotic fervor for exactly one hour. Long before this uplifting show, Stavropol residents demanded the concert be canceled and the saved money spent on other, more important areas, such as laying asphalt.

But the money for Shaman’s lowbrow creativity, heavily steeped in pseudo-patriotism, is deemed more important than funds for roads or other crucial projects.

Moreover, Shaman works on a prepayment basis, meaning that after receiving the money in advance, he would never have returned it, even if residents at the concert had called on him to do so. In short, a typical highly spiritual cheapskate.

Shaman has become a cultural idol for the most fervent Z-patriots. The authorities use him as a theatrical propagandist—a sort of Solovyov with Skabeeva, but with songs.

Although he clearly copies the symbolism and style of Nazi Germany, no one in power seems to want to notice this. And he regularly receives huge amounts of money, both from the federal budget and regional budgets. And all this is done at the expense of the residents’ wishes.

Previously, residents of Orenburg were outraged that the authorities planned to hold a concert by the singer Shaman on City Day and pay him a fee of 16 million rubles. Meanwhile, the region has still not recovered from the spring floods.

Shaman, whose real name is Yaroslav Dronov, has already been awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. Born in 1991, Dronov could very well have gone to fight in the Special Military Operation (SMO). But no, he prefers to call on others to do so with his songs, just like other so-called Russian patriots who prefer to urge others to fight from the safety of television studios.

Why fight when you can make good money by urging others to go to war? It’s an undeservedly artistic endeavor.