Olga
Valeeva, a Crimean beauty queen, was recently fined by authorities for singing
a Ukrainian patriotic song. Valeeva and her friend rendered the Cherovna Kalyna
– an 18th century song that has turned into an anthem of Ukrainian
resistance since Russia’s invasion of the country in February this year. Valeeva
and her friend were suspected of “committing illegal actions aimed at
discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as
publicly displaying prohibited symbols.”

While Olga
Valeeva was let go with a fine because she has minor children, her friend was
sentenced to 10 days in jail. Oleg Kriuchkov, adviser to the Russian
administration head of Crimea, stated on Telegram that while ordinary Ukrainian
songs are not banned, “No one will allow nationalist hymns to be sung here!”

He added
that those who wish to sing Cherovna Kalyna or Our father is Bandera, another
Ukrainian patriotic hymn, will be taken to neutral territory such as Zaporizhzhia
or Nikolaev where they can sing as much as they please.

Who is
Olga Valeeva?

Olga
Valeeva won the Miss Crimea 2022 beauty pageant. She got into trouble with
Russian forces controlling Crimea after she put up what Moscow thinks is an ‘extremist
song’ on Instagram. Valeeva has been fined $680. The Crimean interior ministry
said Valeeva and her friend sang “the battle hymn of an extremist organisation.”
The song rendition was posted as an Instagram story which self-deletes after 24
hours.

After the
administration’s response, Valeeva posted on Instagram that she did not wish to
“harm anyone.” “We just sang a Ukrainian song. We just thought it was just a
little song that we knew for a long time.”

Either
Valeeva or her friend was quoted saying: “I did not know and did not realise
that it had a nationalist character and definitely did not want to spread
propaganda by singing it.”

The Russian
administration in Crimea says that singing Ukrainian songs in itself is not outlawed
but singing nationalist songs during a ‘special military operation,’ the phrase
Russia uses for its invasion of Ukraine, is punishable.