Banned in Russia after anthem for stray animals goes viral - BBC News

Artist Ap$ent became popular across Eastern Europe after his song about fleeing Belarus went viral as an anthem for strays.

2 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Arseniy KisliakImage caption, Arseniy Kisliak said his viral song was inspired by his cat TishkaBy Maria JevstafjevaBBC RussianRussia's internet censor has asked streaming services to restrict access to an artist called Ap$ent after one of his songs went viral across Eastern Europe.

TikTok users from countries like Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan have in recent months adopted his 2022 song Can I come with you? as a backing track for clips of stray animal rescues.

The censor, Roskomnadzor, imposed the ban on his music, supposedly to prevent "destabilisation of Russian society".

Ap$ent, who comes from Belarus and his real name is Arseniy Kisliak, thinks he's probably been targeted because of an earlier song he wrote with an anti-war theme.

But it was Can I come with you? that attracted millions of listens on YouTube and Spotify because of the TikTok trend.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68826576

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