ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- A concert scheduled in St. Petersburg by Russian rock musician Andrei Makarevich has been cancelled by city officials.
Makarevich, leader of the band Mashina Vremeni (Time Machine), wrote on Facebook on March 4 that administrators at the Lensovet Culture House cancelled his April 7 concert over what they described as threats from a group called "The Patriots of Leningrad."
Many of Makarevich’s concerts have been cancelled across Russia since 2014 after he publicly criticized Russia's role in Ukraine.
Last year, pro-Kremlin lawmakers and commentators in Russia branded Makarevich a traitor for his public stance against Moscow’s forceful annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Russia's military support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Aleksandr Kobrinsky, a member of St. Petersburg’s municipal legislature, criticized the cancellation of the concert.
Kobrinsky told RFE/RL that he has asked the city prosecutor’s office determine whether the cancellation was legal.
