Shaman (singer)

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Shaman
Shaman in 2022
Background information
Birth name	Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov
Born	(1991-11-22)November 22, 1991 (age 32) Novomoskovsk, Tula Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Occupations	Singer songwriter musician record producer
Years active	2013–present
Labels	Atlantic Records Russia, ONErpm
Website	shamanofficial.ru

Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov (Russian: Ярослав Юрьевич Дронов; born November 22, 1991^[1]), better known by his stage name Shaman (stylized in all caps), is a Russian singer-songwriter and music producer. He is well known for writing and producing pop and rock music.

Since the 2022 Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, his activities have focused on pro-war stances and he has played a significant role in wartime Russian state propaganda, primarily targeting internal audiences.^[2]

Shaman was voted the second-best Russian singer of 2022 in a poll conducted by the state-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM).^[3] He was awarded the honorary title of Merited Artist of the Russian Federation in 2024.

Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov was born on November 22, 1991, in the city of Novomoskovsk.^[4][5]

At the age of four, his parents enrolled him in the local children's vocal and pop group "Assorti".^[5] He graduated from a music school with a focus on "Folk Singing" and later completed his studies at the Novomoskovsk College of Music, specializing in "Head of Folk Choir".^[6][7] At the age of 15, he began performing at a local restaurant.^[5]

He performed on Faktor A (the Russian version of The X Factor) in 2013 and on the Russian version of The Voice in 2014.

Dronov adopted the stage name Shaman in 2020.^[8] The blonde-haired singer previously wore his hair in dreadlocks,^[9] which he described as a "Russian folk hairstyle, because they look like wheat stalks."^[10]

On 23 February 2022, Shaman released "Rise Up" (Russian: Встанем; romanized: Vstanem) for Defender of the Fatherland Day. The song, which honors soldiers who died, was also released on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with Russia-1, he stated that he believed the song was "dictated to me from above."^[8] His single amassed 46 million views on YouTube and was featured on the Russian state channel Russia-1.^[11] The song was dedicated to Russian war heroes of the Great Patriotic War.^[11]

Later in 2022, he released "Ya Russkiy" (Russian: Я русский; English: I'm Russian).^[12] The song became a pop-culture phenomenon in Russia, garnering more than 42 million views, though it was ridiculed on Russian social media.^[13] Music critic and journalist Otar Kushanashvili criticized the parody "I'm narrow," calling it unfunny, stating: "It's useless and has no sense of humor."^[14] Pavel Rudchenko noted that "the song encourages pride in being Russian, in being a part of Russia," which explains the composition's popularity.^[15]

Shaman expressed his support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in December 2022 and was invited to speak and perform at Kremlin-organized events.^[16] In November 2022, he was criticized by the head of the Russian Media Group for not performing in the Russian-occupied regions in Southeastern Ukraine. In January 2023, he performed for Russian soldiers in Luhansk and Mariupol.^[8]

In July 2023, Shaman released a clip from his song "My Fight" (Russian: Мой бой, romanized: Moy boy); the clip received over a million views in its first 24 hours. While it was praised by Russian news outlets, it was criticized on Russian social media by many, including journalist Artemy Troitsky, for its perceived references to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.^[17]

In December 2023, Shaman was included in the list of proxies approved by the Central Election Commission to campaign for incumbent president Vladimir Putin in the 2024 Russian presidential election for his fifth term as president.^{[18] [19]}

In August 2024, Shaman performed at a Rosatom-sponsored event held within the facilities for employees at Enerhodar's Russian-seized Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, as part of a propaganda tour across occupied territories in South-Eastern Ukraine.^[20]

On 17 March 2023, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs imposed sanctions on him, banning him from entering the country along with other Russian artists and cultural figures who supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[21][22] On 20 July of the same year, Dronov was added to Canada's sanctions list.^[23][24]

On 24 June 2024, Dronov was sanctioned by the European Union for participating in Kremlin-organized concerts, including those in the Russian-occupied regions in Southeastern Ukraine.^[25][1] Following this, his YouTube channel and Spotify artist page were terminated.^[26][27] In response to the YouTube suspension of his channel, Shaman staged a protest concert near the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in July 2024.^[28] Kremlin secretary Dmitry Peskov praised the protest as "skillful".^[29]