The Daily Populous Thursday October 16th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by dailymail.co.uk and submitted by PinheadLarry2323

Hundreds of Russians have called for Putin to be overthrown in a show of public dissent against the dictator in St Petersburg.

A massive crowd was seen joining street musicians at Kazanskaya Square to sing banned anti-war lyrics on October 13.

Russian citizens jumped up and down as they sang the lyrics to Co-operative Swan Lake by Noize MC, a pro-Ukrainian rapper, which was being played by a band that had set up in the historic square.

They chanted in Russian: 'Where have you been for eight years, you f***ing monsters? I want to watch ballet, let the swans dance. Let your grandpa tremble with excitement for Swan Lake.'

Lyrics also include: 'When the czar dies, we'll dance again. The old man still clings to his throne, afraid to let go. Old man in the bunker, still thinks it's nineteen eighty-five.'

The song became something of an anti-war anthem for Russia's youth, who have long detested Putin's regime and his invasion of Ukraine, which is now threatening to harm targets in Russia.

Noize MC, whose real name is Ivan Alekseev, fled to Lithuania shortly after Russia launched its invasion in 2022.

A St Petersburg court banned the distribution of the song in May, following a lawsuit in April.

A massive crowd was seen joining street musicians at Kazanskaya Square to sing banned anti-war lyrics on October 13

According to Russian media, police arrested Diana Loginova, the 18-year-old singer who led the chants.

She will reportedly be charged with an administrative offence for organising a large gathering in a public place.

Her mother, Irina, told local media that her daughter was not political and only chose to sing the song because of its popularity.

Irina said: 'Diana lives with me, she's constantly under my supervision. I often attend her performances myself, then take her home. We are very close, and I know for sure that she has no political stance!

'Moreover, she's a patriot of our country, she loves Russia very much and has no plans to leave! She has no intention of supporting Ukraine!

'The songs Diana chooses are those of her favourite artists. Her audience likes these compositions - that's the only reason she sings them. The audience asks, and Diana performs. There is no subtext, no malicious intent. My daughter doesn't encourage anyone to do anything and doesn't promote anything.'

Putin's invasion of Ukraine has begun hurting Russian citizens' bottom lines, as Ukraine takes the fight to them.

This week, Ukrainian drones set an oil terminal in Feodosia, in Russian-occupied Crimea, alight.

With a capacity of up to 250,000 tons of the valuable substance, it is the Crimean Peninsula's largest oil storage and transshipment hub.

Ukraine has massively escalated its drone campaign against strategic Russian targets, taking out oil and gas infrastructure in a bid to kill the funding for Putin's war machine.

The successful strikes have massively pushed gasoline prices to record highs, and have caused fuel shortages across Russia.

Last week, Ukraine's commander-in-chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed that his forces had crippled Russia's oil-processing capabilities by 21 per cent.

The public performance comes as Kyiv postures to obtain long-range missiles capable of striking Russian targets.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior Ukrainian adviser, posted on X that Ukraine is seeking cruise missiles, air defense systems and joint drone production agreements from the United States.

In this photo taken on October 13 and provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, crows fly over the ruins and smoke in Kostiantynivka, a frontline town

Firefighters extinguish a burning car after a Russian ballistic missile attack on the Skhidny neighborhood of Sloviansk, Ukraine on October 14

Raytheon produces Patriot air defense systems, which have been vital for Ukrainian efforts to counter Russian long-range strikes, and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Kyiv officials are keen to obtain Tomahawks, which could allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow, accurately and with large warheads.

Lockheed Martin also manufactures a wide array of sophisticated weapon systems that can help Ukraine.

While Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is widely expected to request Trump's go-ahead at the Oval Office to procure Tomahawks, Washington has hesitated over such a move out of concern that it could escalate the war and deepen tensions between the United States and Russia.

However, Trump on Sunday warned Russia that he may send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Moscow doesn't end its war there soon - possibly using that threat to increase the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to compromise.

'If this war does not end, if there is no path to peace in the short term, then the United States, along with our allies, will take the steps necessary to impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression,' US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Ukraine's Western backers, gathered at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

'If we must take this step, the US War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do,' he said.

Putin said that Tomahawks wouldn't change the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in published remarks Sunday that the issue of Tomahawks is 'of extreme concern' to Moscow.

Incoovex on October 16th, 2025 at 06:33 UTC »

The song they sing is extremely significant.

"Get the f***** nightingales off the screen" is in reference to Vladimir Solovyov, biggest Russian political propagandist (solovey = nightingale)

"Let the swans dance" is a reference to Tchaykovskij's Swan Lake. In the late Soviet times, this ballet was a symbol of all of the deaths of the Soviet leaders. Whenever Russian state TV ran Swan Lake on a loop, it was a sure sign that something politically seismic was up.

Catadox on October 16th, 2025 at 05:17 UTC »

I know people are making many jokes about this, but those “hundreds” are being incredibly brave. For each person that showed up there are a hundred more who wanted to but are too scared. I hope this builds into something. I don’t have much hope, but these people are knowingly risking everything including their lives. This is a pretty big fucking deal and I applaud them.

Super_Toot on October 16th, 2025 at 05:04 UTC »

Pretty brave thing to do in Russia