MOSCOW, November 6 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy has been fined for performing in violation of migration rules during a tour of Russia, migration officials said.
Nine band members were each fined 18,000 rubles ($560) after a raid at a concert in the southern city of Saratov on Saturday, and the show’s organizer was fined 225,000 rubles ($7,000), a local branch of Russia's Federal Migration Service said Tuesday.
Ukraine’s steps to deepen ties with Europe have angered Russia in recent months, with Moscow calling the maneuver “suicide” and threatening to tighten travel restrictions between the two countries.
Okean Elzy formed in the 1990s and still enjoys great popularity across Ukraine, Russia and other former Soviet republics. Headed by frontman Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, the group has already performed several shows on its current tour, with its next Russian gig scheduled for Wednesday night in Stavropol.
The Federal Migration Service said the band had been fined after a surprise check revealed labor violations during a concert. The agency later removed that statement from its website.
Kiev’s plans to sign a series of free-trade and association agreements with the European Union later this month have fueled rising tension with Russia, which is pushing to expand a Moscow-led Customs Union.
Russia has one of the highest levels of migration in the world, and the head of Russia’s Federal Migration Service said in an interview last month that Ukrainians were the largest group of migrants in Russia.
