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Diana Arbenina

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Diana Arbenina
Concert in Toronto (May 2018)
Concert in Toronto (May 2018)
Background information
Birth nameDiana Kulachenko
Born (1974-07-08) 8 July 1974 (age 50)
Valozhyn, Minsk Region, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union
Genresrock, indie-rock, alternative-rock
Occupation(s)Singer
Songwriter
Composer
Poet
Actor
Instrument(s)voice, guitar, accordion, piano
Years active1991–present
Websitesnipers.net

Diana Sergeyevna Arbenina (née Kulachenko, Belarusian: Дыяна Сяргееўна Кулачэнка; Russian: Диа́на Серге́евна Арбе́нина; born July 8, 1974) is a Russian singer, musician, poet, and leader of the rock group Nochnye Snaipery.

Arbenina is one of a few Russian rock artists who write and perform both in Russian and in English. Arbenina is a recipient of the “Triumph” Literature Prize and is also an official Russian ambassador for Gibson and the World Wildlife Fund.[1]

Biography

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Arbenina was born in 1974 in Valozhyn, Minsk Region, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union[2] to a family of journalists.

When Arbenina was 3 years old, her family moved to Barysaw then to the Russian Far East. She studied at the Magadan Pedagogical Institute at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, then at the Philology Department of Saint Petersburg State University. She began writing songs in the early 1990s.[2]

In 1993, together with violinist Svetlana Surganova, she formed the group Nochnye Snaipery (Night Snipers). In 1993, she temporarily married Konstantin Arbenin, possibly to obtain Saint Petersburg residency. She soon divorced, but kept his last name.[2]

In 2002, Surganova left Nochnye Snaipery and Arbenina became the only vocalist in the group.

In 2005, she received the title of Merited Artist of Chechen Republic.[3]

On February 4, 2010, she gave birth to twins with the help of in vitro fertilisation.[2][4]

In 2014, Arbenina's concerts in Russia were cancelled, reportedly ordered by the Kremlin, after Arbenina expressed sympathy with Ukraine following the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.[5]

Political Views

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At the end of 2023, Diana Arbenina changed her position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and began supporting Russian military actions. On October 22, 2023, during a concert in Novosibirsk, she invited Lidia Yastrub, the wife of a Russian soldier who took part in the invasion of Ukraine, to join her on stage. They performed the song "A Second Back" together. [6] Later, Arbenina recalled that she had met with representatives of the Committee of Families of Soldiers of the Fatherland and expressed her condolences for their loss.


Arbenina publicly supported the wives and mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine. She explained her stance by stating, “I don't wave a flag in front of the camera or beat my chest claiming to be a patriot. I think it's a trend now to run around with a flag, and I simply don't trust those people. The guys on the front wouldn’t believe them either, because out there, people are doing the real work.” [7]


She had previously expressed anti-war views, which led to the cancellation of many of her concerts. In 2023, pro-Kremlin activists, including Vitaly Borodin, called for her to be investigated for allegedly discrediting the Russian armed forces.



Film appearances

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Year Film
2008 Radio Day (Russian)
2019 Mistresses (Russian)

References

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  1. ^ "DIANA ARBENINA AND NIGHT SNIPERS: 25 years on stage". billetto.se. October 5, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Диана Арбенина: "Родить двоих детей — все равно, что целую роту"". Segodnya (in Russian). May 18, 2011. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  3. ^ "Недавно в чеченском городе Гудермесе наконец состоялся рок-фестиваль под лозунгом "За мир на Кавказе"] / Взгляд" (in Russian). 14 November 2005.
  4. ^ DADASHEVA, SABINA (June 14, 2014). "Диана Арбенина о детях и вынужденных разлуках". Hellomagazine.com (in Russian).
  5. ^ Muchnik, Andrei; Cichowlas, Ola (2017-04-21). "Ukrainian Beats Steal a March on Moscow". The Moscow Times.
  6. ^ "Певица Диана Арбенина спела с женой участника вторжения в Украину". Свобода.org. 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  7. ^ "Diana Arbenina sang with the wife of a soldier involved in the war in Ukraine at a concert in Novosibirsk. Earlier, her performances were proposed to be canceled due to her anti-war stance". Novaya Gazeta Europe. 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
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