Alexei Navalny is a leader of the opposition party in Russia against Putin, and he’s been orchestrating massive protests across the country in March against government corruption. Since then, he’s been jailed, released, and attacked with chemicals which damaged his right eye. Navalny is a former blogger, and considerably more savvy and hip to today’s youth than many of the old guard in Putin’s camp, which is maybe what drove the Kremlin to hire Russian pop singer Alisa Vox, who released a super hip anti-protest song on May 15, as another country-wide protest organizing push brews.
The Moscow Timesreports that Vox was formerly a singer for rock band Leningrad, the founder of which is considered anti-Putin. She separated from the group in 2016, released a solo album, and is now dabbling in state propaganda with this new hit “Baby Boy,” about the debilitating effects of protest and thinking about politics. Here’s some lyrics:
At two o’clock on a sunny day, he heads out for a protest.
His weak hands grip a poster closely to his chest.
There are errors in his sentences.
Typos, I count four.
But his heart is pounding thunderously.
In his eyes he thirsts for war.
The song ends by saying it’s not too late to make a change, and promises, “Freedom, money, girls — you’ll get it all, even power. So, kid, stay out of politics, and give your brain a shower.”
Navalny responded in a YouTube video, addressing Vox in particular at about minute 2:27:
Navalny points out that there have been other clear cases of youthful anti-propaganda videos released at the behest of Putin, videos likely paid for with taxpayer money. According to Mashable, Russian news site Meduza alleges Vox was paid $35,000 for her performance. According to Nalvany, her work here is so good that viewers should abandon all hope of attending future marches, like the one planned for June in almost two hundred cities.
