Oleg Gasmanow's Concert at Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk Highlights Pro-War Stance

The 35th edition of the Slavianski Bazaar, a major music festival celebrating Slavic cultures, took place this summer in Vitebsk, Belarus. The event featured a concert by Moscow pop star Oleg Gasmanow, which became one of the festival's highlights. Gasmanow, born to Belarusian parents, rose to fame in the late Soviet Union with Euro-disco pop songs and ran for the liberal-centrist 'Movement for Democratic Reforms' in 1993. Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, he has advocated for a more aggressive Russian foreign policy. At the concert, he performed his song 'Forward, Russia!' and in his 2025 track 'Tanks', he included a verse referencing German tanks. The festival, originally founded as a celebration of all Slavic cultures, could not escape the impact of the Ukraine war. The report is part of an article by Martin Leidenfrost published in the German newspaper 'der Freitag', which requires a subscription for full access.