Odesa calls to ban Russian tracks in public places

In Odesa, it is proposed to ban music in Russian in public places to protect public space from provocations. The initiative came about after a scandal at the Palladium nightclub, where a Belarusian singer's songs were played in Russian during a party, causing outrage among the townspeople.

Yaroslava Vitko-Prysyazhnyuk, a representative of the language ombudsman, spoke about this initiative on the Ukrainian Information Service.

The representative of the language ombudsman called on the Odesa authorities to impose a moratorium on Russian-language music in public institutions. The letter was sent to the heads of the Regional State Administration Oleh Kiper and the MVA Serhiy Lysak by Yaroslava Vitko-Prysyazhnyuk, a member of the Regional Council.

The initiative came about after the resonance around the Palladium nightclub, where a DJ played a track by a Belarusian artist in Russian. The video quickly went viral, causing public outrage.

According to Vitko-Prysyazhnyuk, the moratorium is a common practice of Ukrainian cities to regulate language content in public places, with similar decisions in place in Kyiv, Cherkasy, Zaporizhzhia and other regions. She added that citizens can report to the police if Russian-language songs are played in public spaces, and the authorities are obliged to control content that influences public opinion without violating privacy rights.

The MP also recalled previous scandals with the Palladium club, including Morgenstern's concert in 2019 on the day of mourning for the victims of the Asvadurov house. In March 2024, the club hosted a party on the day of mourning after the shelling of a residential building that killed three people, including a three-year-old child.

On the night of November 2, police checked the Palladium club in Odesa after a complaint that Russian music was playing there. The head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, Oleh Kiper, emphasized that the OMA is strongly opposed to Russian songs in clubs and other public places.

He instructed the relevant departments to assess the legality of the venue's actions. Already on November 4, Kiper ordered the temporary closure of the Palladium club due to a scandal with musical content at one of the parties.

Last year, Yaroslava Vitko-Prysyazhnyuk, a representative of the language ombudsman, explained to Intent.Insight how violations of language legislation are monitored in Odesa, what citizens complain about, and what powers the commissioner for the protection of the state language has.

Анна Бальчінос