Move over, Shaman. Russia’s latest breakout singer is a TikToker who makes listeners feel like the 2010s never ended — and the full-scale war never began

Russia’s biggest musical success of 2025 wasn’t Shaman, the hawkish Kremlin-backed pop singer, or Instasamka, the blogger-turned-rapper who built hits around conspicuous consumption and controversy before turning pro-war herself. Instead, the artist listeners embraced most was quieter and almost a throwback: Vanya Dmitrienko, a 20-year-old singer-songwriter who doesn’t just ignore the full-scale war in Ukraine, but seems to channel the immediate pre-war era. Meduza traces Dmitrienko’s rise, his retreat from the spotlight amid Moscow’s TikTok restrictions, and his return last year with a new, more mature image and sound.