Shaman (singer)

Russian singer-songwriter (born 1991)

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"SHAMAN" redirects here. For other uses, see Shaman (disambiguation).

Shaman

Shaman in 2022

Background information
Birth name| Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov
Born| (1991-11-22)November 22, 1991 (age 32)
Novomoskovsk, Tula Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Occupations|

* Singer
* songwriter
* musician
* record producer

Years active| 2013–present
Labels| Atlantic Records Russia, ONErpm
Website| shamanofficial.ru

Musical artist

Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov (Russian: Ярослав Юрьевич Дронов; born November 22, 1991[1]), better known by his stage name Shaman (stylized in all caps), is a Russian singer-songwriter and music producer. He is well known for writing and producing pop and rock music.

Since the 2022 Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, his activities have focused on pro-war stances and he has played a significant role in wartime Russian state propaganda, primarily targeting internal audiences.[2]

Shaman was voted the second-best Russian singer of 2022 in a poll conducted by the state-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM).[3] He was awarded the honorary title of Merited Artist of the Russian Federation in 2024.

## Career

[edit]

Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov was born on November 22, 1991, in the city of Novomoskovsk.[4][5]

At the age of four, his parents enrolled him in the local children's vocal and pop group "Assorti".[5] He graduated from a music school with a focus on "Folk Singing" and later completed his studies at the Novomoskovsk College of Music, specializing in "Head of Folk Choir".[6][7] At the age of 15, he began performing at a local restaurant.[5]

He performed on Faktor A (the Russian version of The X Factor) in 2013 and on the Russian version of The Voice in 2014.

Dronov adopted the stage name Shaman in 2020.[8] The blonde-haired singer previously wore his hair in dreadlocks,[9] which he described as a "Russian folk hairstyle, because they look like wheat stalks." [10]

On 23 February 2022, Shaman released "Rise Up" (Russian: Встанем; romanized: Vstanem) for Defender of the Fatherland Day. The song, which honors soldiers who died, was also released on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with Russia-1, he stated that he believed the song was "dictated to me from above."[8] His single amassed 46 million views on YouTube and was featured on the Russian state channel Russia-1.[11] The song was dedicated to Russian war heroes of the Great Patriotic War.[11]

Later in 2022, he released "Ya Russkiy" (Russian: Я русский; English: I'm Russian).[12] The song became a pop-culture phenomenon in Russia, garnering more than 42 million views, though it was ridiculed on Russian social media.[13] Music critic and journalist Otar Kushanashvili criticized the parody “I’m narrow,” calling it unfunny, stating: “It’s useless and has no sense of humor.”[14] Pavel Rudchenko noted that "the song encourages pride in being Russian, in being a part of Russia," which explains the composition's popularity.[15]

Shaman expressed his support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in December 2022 and was invited to speak and perform at Kremlin-organized events.[16] In November 2022, he was criticized by the head of the Russian Media Group for not performing in the Russian-occupied regions in Southeastern Ukraine. In January 2023, he performed for Russian soldiers in Luhansk and Mariupol.[8]

In July 2023, Shaman released a clip from his song "My Fight" (Russian: Мой бой, romanized: Moy boy); the clip received over a million views in its first 24 hours. While it was praised by Russian news outlets, it was criticized on Russian social media by many, including journalist Artemy Troitsky, for its perceived references to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.[17]

In December 2023, Shaman was included in the list of proxies approved by the Central Election Commission to campaign for incumbent president Vladimir Putin in the 2024 Russian presidential election for his fifth term as president.[18] [19]

In August 2024, Shaman performed at a Rosatom-sponsored event held within the facilities for employees at Enerhodar's Russian-seized Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, as part of a propaganda tour across occupied territories in South-Eastern Ukraine. [20]

## Sanctions

[edit]

On 17 March 2023, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs imposed sanctions on him, banning him from entering the country along with other Russian artists and cultural figures who supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[21][22] On 20 July of the same year, Dronov was added to Canada's sanctions list.[23][24]

On 24 June 2024, Dronov was sanctioned by the European Union for participating in Kremlin-organized concerts, including those in the Russian-occupied regions in Southeastern Ukraine.[25][1] Following this, his YouTube channel and Spotify artist page were terminated.[26][27] In response to the YouTube suspension of his channel, Shaman staged a protest concert near the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in July 2024.[28] Kremlin secretary Dmitry Peskov praised the protest as "skillful".[29]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "COUNCIL DECISION (CFSP) 2024/1738 of 24 June 2024 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine".
2. ^ Hopkins, Valerie, Birger (2023-09-03). "Changing His Tune for Mother Russia". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2024-08-15.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. ^ Россияне назвали лучших певцов и актеров 2022 года // ТАСС, 1 ноября 2022
4. ^ Амител, И. А. (2023-10-02). "Кто такой SHAMAN, которого признали главным певцом 2023 года в России?". www.amic.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-07-29.
5. ^ a b c "«Я сделаю из него звезду» Кто превратил Шамана в главного певца воюющей России — и какую роль в этом сыграла его жена, пиарщица Елена Мартынова". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-07-29.
6. ^ Нагель, Екатерина. "Ярослав Дронов: «Ждал, что ко мне повернется Пелагея» | WDAY". www.wday.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-07-29.
7. ^ "Туляк Ярослав Дронов, финалист шоу «Фактор А»: Пугачева говорит, что я незаурядный! - Архив Тульских новостей - MySlo.ru". web.archive.org. 2022-07-31. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
8. ^ a b c Hopkins, Valerie; Birger, Georgy (9 March 2023). "Changing His Tune for Mother Russia". The New York Times.
9. ^ Caprio, Stefano (22 April 2023). "Singing Russia's identity". www.asianews.it.
10. ^ "Певец SHAMAN назвал свои дреды "русской народной прической"". Moskovskij Komsomolets (in Russian). 12 August 2022.
11. ^ a b «Встанем». Новая песня, обращенная в историю // Вести.ру, 27 июня 2022
12. ^ "Клип "Я русский" певца SHAMAN набрал больше двух миллионов просмотров за пару дней (показываем)" [Music video "I'm Russian" by singer SHAMAN got more than two million views in a couple of days]. Maxim.
13. ^ ""Я узкий". Как в Госдуме и на YouTube отреагировали на пародию Гудкова" ["I'm narrow". How the State Duma and YouTube reacted to Gudkov's parody]. RBC.
14. ^ «Ублюдок он, лишенный вкуса»: Кушанашвили оценил пародию Гудкова «Я узкий» Archived 2022-09-11 at the Wayback Machine // teleprogramma.pro, 8 сентября 2022
15. ^ «Мощь»: критик Рудченко объяснил взрывной успех клипа SHAMAN «Я русский» // Пятый канал, 25 июля 2022
16. ^ "Власти пытаются приучить россиян гордиться войной". Meduza (in Russian). 25 December 2022.
17. ^ "Шаман выпустил клип на песню "Мой бой" с кадрами из Донбасса. Зрители посмотрели его с немецкими субтитрами — и увидели отсылку к манифесту Гитлера" [Shaman released a clip for his song "My Fight" with scenes from Donbass. Viewers watched it with German subtitles - and noticed references to Hitler's manifesto]. Meduza (in Russian). 21 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
18. ^ "Shaman and Military Bloggers Will Campaign for Putin in 2024". The Moscow Times. 28 December 2023.
19. ^ "The Ministry of Internal Affairs proposed to check the singer Shaman for LGBT propaganda because of the video "I am Russian"". Moscow Times. 31 January 2024.
20. ^ "Shaman посетил Запорожскую АЭС". lady.mail.ru (in Russian). 2024-08-15. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
21. ^ "Латвия запретила въезд певцу Shaman, Надежде Бабкиной и Лере Кудрявцевой". Радио Свобода (in Russian). 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
22. ^ "Латвия запретила въезд в страну певцу Shaman, Надежде Бабкиной и Стасу Старовойтову". Новая газета Европа. March 17, 2023. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
23. ^ "Канада ввела санкции против системы «Мир» и «большой четверки» операторов России". Forbes.ru (in Russian). 2023-07-20. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
24. ^ Canada, Global Affairs (2022-02-04). "Sanctions – Russian invasion of Ukraine". GAC. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
25. ^ Veronika Melkozerova (2024-06-24). "EU sanctions Chechen dictator's mom". Politico. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
26. ^ Times, The Moscow (2024-07-05). "YouTube Bans Pro-War Russian Artists". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
27. ^ Times, The Moscow (2024-06-28). "Spotify Removes Songs of Pro-War Russian Artists". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
28. ^ Волин, Денис; Краснов, Иван (2024-07-20). "«Тапает хомяка». Как прошел концерт SHAMAN у стен посольства США в Москве". Главные новости в России и мире - RTVI (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-07-27.
29. ^ "«Умеет лучше всего»: Песков прокомментировал концерт Shaman у посольства США". Вечерняя Москва (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-07-28.

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