Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday the Kremlin should play a leading role in Russian rap music and in youth culture, rather than trying to shut it down.
His comments follow a spate of concert cancellations by venue owners and local authorities across Russia and the brief arrest of a popular rap artist, Husky. The crackdown has sparked considerable discussion in recent months, especially among young people.
Putin said such heavy-handed measures were often counterproductive, and suggested an alternative approach.
“If it’s impossible to stop something, you’ve got to take charge of it,” he said during a live broadcast of a meeting of his advisory council on culture and the arts.
“How to do this, how to take charge and guide in the necessary direction… That’s the most important issue,” he said, adding that the question would be discussed further by members of his administration and the culture ministry.
Husky, who raps in Russian and whose songs have at times been critical of the government, said his concerts were under pressure because authorities objected to lyrics they found offensive.
After his concert was cancelled in Krasnodar, in southern Russia, he tried to…
