the Crimean Crisis The annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014 divided the Russian rock community to supporters and opposition to the move. Former Aria leader and current leader of the band Kipelov, Valery Kipelov, expressed support of the "annexation", and stated that it should've been done in 1991. He performed at music festivals celebrating the event in Crimea. Konstantin Kinchev and his band Alisa, considered to be among the pioneers of Russian rock, expressed support of the move, and cancelled all of his concerts in Ukraine. Kinchev had already expressed views supporting the return of Crimea to Russia in 2008. Among the other prominent figures in Russian rock who expressed support of the move included Chaif, Chicherina, Alexander F. Sklyar, and Vadim Samoylov (ex-Agatha Christie). On the other hand, Andrey Makarevich was one of the organisers of the 2014 anti-war protests in Russia, and harshly criticised the annexation Another prominent figure to criticise the annexation was Yuri Shevchuk (DDT) Singer Zemfira expressed her opposition by wrapping herself in a Ukrainian flag when on stage. Among the musicians who didn't criticise the annexation, however, spoke against war in general and called for peace between the peoples were such prominent figures as Boris Grebenshchikov (Aquarium) and Vyacheslav Butusov (Nautilus Pompilius). Characteristics Fans of Russian Rock would frequently refer to most of the music on MTV Russia dismissively as "popsa", a dichotomy that appeared in the '80s when government controlled radio and TV stations would air only politically harmless music by performers such as Philipp Kirkorov. The lines are still quite clearly drawn, with bands such as Nogu Svelo! - who recorded a song with pop-singer Nataliya Vetlitskaya - being an anomaly. In contrast to Western rock, Russian rock is often said to have less drive; it is characterized by different rhythms, instruments and more involved lyrics. Unconventional instruments have often been used in addition to the standard electric guitars and drums (very often violin and wind instruments). Another characteristic of Russian Rock is being partly Folk rock. Very often Russian Rock songs, especially those of the classic 80s bands, talk about national themes and feature elements from Russian folk music. Aquarium, DDT and Yuri Morozov are examples of this. Considering its poetic roots (Russian literature, bard music), it is not a big surprise that lyrics play a far larger role in Russian rock than Western rock. Vocal melody is