Russia President Vladimir Putin asks his government to back pop music

Moscow, Feb 24: Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his administration to support popular music after young independent artists were asked to cancel their shown in various cities of the country, the Moscow Times reported.

In December last year, Putin told his officials to put a control on rap music instead of banning it for he felt such extreme reaction will only make it more popular. He said this following a brief arrest of a popular rap artiste.

This week, the 66-year-old instructed his deputy chief of staff Sergei Kiriyenko to submit a list of "priority actions" to support music and visual arts by September 1.

"Organize a discussion with members of the expert community and expert groups on forms of state support for contemporary popular music, including genres in demand among the youth," the directive read.

In 2017, the Opposition accused the Kremlin of using pop and rap music videos to discourage Russian youths from taking part in anti-corruption protests.

Putin, who is serving his fourth and final presidential term, felt that rap music is based on three pillars of sex, drugs and protest and of the three, he was particularly worried with the drugs, considering it as a way to the country's degradation.