Shaman (singer)

Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov (Ярослав Юрьевич Дронов; born November 22, 1991 ), 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. His style mixes contemporary music, ethnic singing and unique vocal techniques.

Shaman was voted the second best Russian singer of 2022 in a poll by the state-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM).

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

Dronov took on the stage name Shaman in 2020. The blonde-haired singer formerly wore his hair as dreadlocks, which he described as a "Russian folk hairstyle, because they look like wheat stalks".

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

Later in 2022, he released "I'm Russian" (Я русский). The song became a pop-culture phenomenon in Russia as it has more than 42 million views but was ridiculed on Russian social media. Music critic and journalist Otar Kushanashvili called the parody “I’m narrow” unfunny: “it’s useless and has no sense of humor” Pavel Rudchenko noted that "the song encourages pride ourselves to be a Russian, to be a part of Russia", which explains the popularity of this composition.

Shaman supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and was invited to speak and perform at government-organized events. In November 2022, he was criticized by the head of the Russian Media Group for not performing in occupied territories in Ukraine, and in January 2023 he played for Russian soldiers in Luhansk and Mariupol.

In July 2023, Shaman released a clip from his song "My Fight" (Мой бой); 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.

In December 2023, Shaman was included in the list of proxies approved by the Central Election Commission that would campaign for incumbent president Vladimir Putin in the 2024 Russian presidential election for his fifth term as president.

Sanctions
On March 17, 2023, against the backdrop of Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Latvian Foreign Ministry imposed sanctions on Yaroslav Dronov, banning him from entering the country among Russian cultural figures who supported the war in Ukraine.

On July 20, 2023, Dronov was placed on Canada's sanctions list against "individuals who use their art to promote Russia's invasion of Ukraine.".

Previously, Dronov was placed on the ACF's list of corrupt and warmongers for actively supporting the actions of the Russian authorities during the aggression against Ukraine.

On 24 June 2024, Dronov was sanctioned by the European Union. The citation states that Dronov "repeatedly participated in Kremlin-organised concerts, including the Kremlin’s anniversary event for that war, and given concerts in the illegally occupied regions of Ukraine, including as part of troop entertainment events for the Russian Armed Forces". Following this, his YouTube channel and Spotify artist page were terminated.