Russian pro-war singer Shamans latest single about a hero who came home alive has sparked an online debate over its potentially hidden references to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.Shaman, whose real name is Yaroslav Dronov, came out of relative obscurity and has become one of the most recognizable faces of Russias propaganda machine after the country invaded Ukraine in 2022.The music video for Shamans new song Zhivoy (Russian for Alive) opens with a dedication to all those who suffered for the truth, followed by images of the singer sitting inside a jail cell.Some online users drew parallels with Navalny, who has gained popular support for his anti-corruption campaigns and is now serving a 19-year prison sentence for extremism, charges which the jailed activist and his supporters say are politically motivated.In response to the online speculation, Dronovdenied the claims that Zhivoy was dedicated to Navalny.Peoples imagination is boundless.
Everyone sees what they want to see, he told the news outlet Podyom on Sunday.As the president [Vladimir Putin] used to say: They picked it all out of their noses and smeared it across Telegram channels, Dronov said.But the 32-year-old singers denials did little to dissuade viewers from claiming to find hidden messages about Navalny.The songs release date of Jan.
18 was seen as a nod to the anniversary of Navalnys return to Russia from Germany, where he had been treated for a near-fatal poisoning.
Navalny was immediately detained after landing in Moscow on Jan.
17, 2021.Even the lyric that translates as you returned home with victory wasinterpreted to reference Navalny since the activist returned to Russia on a jet owned by the low-cost carrier Pobeda.
Pobeda" is the Russian word for victory.In his remarks to Podyom, Dronov maintained that the release date of Zhivoy coincided with Orthodox Epiphany.Navalny, meanwhile,wrote Monday that authorities in the Russian Arctic prison where he is being held use Shamans signature song Im Russian to wake up inmates each morning.Navalny joked that the songs use exemplified post-irony and meta-irony after Kremlin propaganda persecuted me for years fortaking part in Russian marches.