Rammstein Frontman Til Lindemann Arrested in Russia
Update, August 31, 10:22am EDT: Another new report at DW.com indicates Lindemann was only questioned at his hotel by police and warned not to participate in the festival, but that he was not arrested.
Update, August 30, 11:21am EDT: A new report by BBC indicates that Maxim Larin, the festival’s organizer, believes the Russian government’s objections to the concert were political in nature, due to his association with the Rodina party. The planned concert yesterday did not take place, although next weekend’s show in Moscow as of now will go on as planned with proof of vaccination or negative Covid-19 test results required for entry.
Original post:
Russian police arrested Rammstein singer Till Lindemann yesterday, August 28, removing him from his hotel room and bringing him down to a police station for questioning.
Summa Inferno reports that Lindemann was scheduled to perform with his solo band at the Maklarin For Homeland festival in the Tver region on Sunday, August 29, and it is believed — but not confirmed — that Lindemann’s detention was related to Covid-19 restrictions surrounding mass gatherings in Russia. Festivals like Maklarin for Homeland are banned in the country at the moment due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Publicly released photos of Lindemann at the police station can be seen below:
Lindemann’s manager, Anar Reiband, also faces accusations. He declared himself a tourist upon entering the country, but is believed by Russian authorities to be an organizer of the festival. He could face deportation and a permanent ban from traveling to Russia.
It’s not clear whether Lindemann will be allowed to perform at tonight’s festival. He is also scheduled to perform on September 4-5 in Moscow as part of the Spasskaya Baschnja festival in Red Square, but that remains up in the air as well.
Separately, DW reports that Till Lindemann stands accused of an illegal NFT sale in Russia. Lindemann recently recorded a music video at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, with permission, but is now including exclusive copies of that video in an NFT for $117,000 (which also includes a dinner out with the singer). The museum claims that the clip’s sale as an NFT violates the terms of the agreement.
This is not the first time Rammstein have courted controversy in Russia. Rammstein guitarists Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe kissed on stage during a 2019 performance in protest of the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws. Russia’s “gay propaganda” law, which was passed and enacted in 2013. The law makes it illegal to present any “non-traditional” (i.e., heterosexual) sexual act as “normal,” allegedly in the name of protecting children.
As recently as April of this year, Andrei Borovikov, a Russian Rammstein fan, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for sharing the band’s “Pussy” video on social media.
Rammstein recently moved all of their planned 2021 gigs, already rescheduled once from 2020, to 2022. Those dates follow below.
Rammstein in Europe:
May 20 Leipzig Red Bull Arena [tickets]
May 21 Leipzig Red Bull Arena [tickets]
May 25 Klagenfurt Wörthersee Stadion [tickets]
May 30 Zurich Stadion Letzigrund [tickets]
May 31 Zurich Stadion Letzigrund [tickets]
June 4 Berlin Olympiastadion [tickets]
June 5 Berlin Olympiastadion [tickets]
June 10 Stuttgart Cannstatter Wasen [tickets]
June 11 Stuttgart, Cannstatter Wasen [tickets]
June 14 Hamburg Volksparkstadion [tickets]
June 15 Hamburg Volksparkstadion [tickets]
June 18 Düsseldorf Merkur Spiel-Arena [tickets]
June 19 Düsseldorf Merkur Spiel-Arena [tickets]
June 22 Aarhus Ceres Park [tickets]
June 26 Coventry Ricoh Arena [tickets]
June 30 Cardiff Principality Stadium [tickets]
July 4 Nijmegen Goffertpark [tickets]
July 8 Lyon Groupama Stadium [tickets]
July 9 Lyon Groupama Stadium [tickets]
July 12 Turin Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino [tickets]
July 16 Warsaw PGE Narodowy [tickets]
July 20 Tallinn Song Festival Grounds [tickets]
July 24 Oslo Bjerke Travbane [tickets]
July 29 Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium [tickets]
July 30 Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium [tickets]
August 3 Ostend Park De Nieuwe Koers [tickets]
Rammstein in North America:
Sunday, August 21, 2022 – Montreal, QC – Parc Jean-Drapeau [tickets]
Saturday, August 27, 2022 – Minneapolis, MN – U.S. Bank Stadium [tickets]
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field [tickets]
Saturday, September 3, 2022 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field [tickets]
Tuesday, September 6, 2022 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium [tickets]
Friday, September 9, 2022 – Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium [tickets]
Saturday, September 17, 2022 – San Antonio, TX – Alamodome [tickets]
Friday, September 23, 2022 – Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum [tickets]
Saturday, September 24, 2022 – Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum*** [tickets]
Saturday, October 1, 2022 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Sol [tickets]
Sunday, October 2, 2022 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Sol [tickets]
Tuesday, October 4, 2022 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Sol [tickets]
