A few moving words to denounce the Russian military operation in Ukraine then he forms the sign of peace: "I will make this sign until my hands are tied behind my back", he says.

A reference to the abuses, attributed by Ukraine and Western countries to the Russian army, committed in cities like Boutcha, where dozens of bodies of Ukrainians were found, some with their hands tied behind their backs.

Noize MC - real name Ivan Alexeiev, 37 - is one of two Russian pop stars performing in Europe to raise funds for Ukrainians forced to flee the Kremlin's military offensive.

With the Russian pop icon Monetotchka, they have already raised more than 200,000 euros for a Polish refugee aid NGO, thanks to their "Voices of Peace" tour.

"I wanted to find a way to express myself as effectively as possible," Monetotchka told AFP before his performance.

Russian pop icon Monetotchka during a concert against the war in Ukraine on April 21, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland JANEK SKARZYNSKI AFP

She then went on stage, in front of a projection of images of ballerinas dancing Swan Lake, a ballet associated with the decline of the Soviet era and the collapse of the regime.

"Talking about War"

In a white dress and wearing two buns, Monetotchka delighted fans with an incisive poem mocking the Russian invasion, before continuing with electro-pop hits.

"We found a way to really make a difference and forget, for a second, the feeling of guilt," said the 23-year-old artist, whose real name is Liza Guyrdymova, born just before the rise to power of Vladimir Putin in 2000.

Russian pop icon Monetotchka during a concert against the war in Ukraine on April 21, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland JANEK SKARZYNSKI AFP

In the lyrics of his songs, his worries about the development of Russia had until then been hidden under "metaphors".

But the last two months have changed that.

"I'm talking about war without synonyms," she told AFP, defying a Kremlin law requiring the Russians to call the offensive in Ukraine a "special military operation".

But at the same time, she says she fears losing her supporters to the Kremlin narrative.

"I try with all my strength not to scare people who do not speak out, but rather to bring them towards us".

This series of concerts in Europe is a far cry from previous tours, even those that took place after 2014, the year of the Maidan uprising and the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

Russian artists, she says, had then continued to perform in Ukraine, with little difference between a concert in Saint Petersburg and in Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine today bombarded daily by Russian forces.

“We could go there and sing in our Russian language, our Russian songs, and nobody would do anything to us,” she says.

"People there knew our songs by heart."

Spectators attend a concert by Russian artists against the war in Ukraine on April 21, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland JANEK SKARZYNSKI AFP

Just like the hundreds of Ukrainian fans present in Warsaw, who took up his songs in chorus.

"Not indifferent"

"I am happy that there are Russians who are not indifferent and who are helping us," rejoiced Evguenia Korjelaïa, 25, whose parents live in Mykolaiv, a city in southern Ukraine which is suffering from intense bombardment.

Liza Daviskiba, 36, a Russian manager living in Finland, was surprised to see so many people for Russian artists.

"I am so happy to see this kind of initiative. It shows that things are not good in Russia and that we Russians are with Ukrainians."

Russian pop icon Monetotchka during a concert against the war in Ukraine on April 21, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland JANEK SKARZYNSKI AFP

Like tens of thousands of his compatriots shocked by Vladimir Putin's decision to send the army to Ukraine on February 24, Monetotchka left Russia in the days that followed.

And like them, she does not know when she will return home.

However, she remains hopeful because the donations collected during the concerts come mostly from Russia.

And the concerts - in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and soon in Scandinavian capitals and in Germany - allow him, as well as Ivan Alexeïev, to "forget briefly to think" of Russia and to "keep the head above water".

Even if everything is not without difficulty because she also admits having sometimes come up against the “anger” of Ukrainians and certain Europeans.

"It is their right".

© 2022 AFP