In June 2024, reports appeared in the media and social networks that at one of his recent concerts the singer demonstrated the emblem of a Ukrainian military formation banned in Russia. We have verified the accuracy of this news.
Publications that Russian singer Ivan Alekseev (better known as Noize MC) wore a T-shirt with the symbols of the Azov brigade to his concert began appearing on the Internet on June 16, 2024. Newspaper "Arguments and facts” told the news this way: “Users published a video from this concert on TikTok. When Noize MC saw an unfurled Ukrainian flag at a concert, the musician unbuttoned the buttons on his shirt, revealing merchandise from the Ukrainian nationalist Azov Battalion.” In the note, “Azov” is called both a regiment and a battalion, although at the beginning of 2023 it was reorganized to a brigade as part of the National Guard of Ukraine. Similar publications about Alekseev and the symbols of the military unit were released as Russian (“News", Ura.ru, Life.ru, Lenta.ru, Avia.pro, "Constantinople", "360"), and Ukrainian (Obozrevatel.com, UNIAN) media.
The viral video or its screenshots can be found in pro-Russian Telegram channels, including Readovka (525,000 views), "Evil proof️" (173,000), "Sobolev Live" (58,000) and "Gasparyan" (53,000), as well as "Peekaboo" and in "VKontakte" In many publications, the print on the artist’s T-shirt is either not shown at all or is blurred out, which is why the vast majority of readers did not have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the original image. In addition, different posts indicate different locations for the concert. Although most authors reported that Noize MC performed in Valencia, Readovka wrote about Kyiv, and the publication SVTV - about Barcelona.
Subsequently RT and other media reported that activists of the public movement “Call of the People” called on the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation to open a criminal case against Alekseev under the article on public justification of terrorism - “Azov” from August 2022 recognized in Russia a terrorist organization, and the display of its symbols is prohibited.
In some of the publications mentioned at the beginning of this analysis, the video contains a watermark of a TikTok user with a username @sergio.marchuk. He published original video featuring Noize MC back on May 27 at about 02:40 Moscow time. The description says that the recording was made at a concert, which passed the day before in Valencia.
The original video is 41 seconds long. In the first half of the video at the top there is the inscription: “Noize MC in an Azov T-shirt 👍 🇺🇦+🇪🇸”; in the second half, instead of this phrase, the date and location of the show is indicated. In one of his next publications @sergio.marchuk explained what is happening on the recording: “At the concert, I filmed and posted an interesting moment: behind me, the guys raised the flag of Ukraine with the coat of arms of Azov and [the slogan] “Glory to the Heroes!”, on which many signatures were visible. <…> After that, Noize MC unbuttoned his jacket and showed that “Azov” was also written on his T-shirt.”
Although Verified cannot reliably confirm that the musician unzipped his overalls in response to seeing the Ukrainian flag with the unit's emblem, Alekseev's white T-shirt does in fact show the word "Azov" written in yellow letters on a blue background. You can also see a yellow line and two rounded rectangles on the print.
On the Internet you can find another photo in which the artist is captured, probably wearing the same T-shirt as in the viral video. Photograph published user of the social network X with the username @latte4ka, who, judging by description her profile, lives in Budapest. “He (Noize MC. - Ed.) walked around the city wearing this T-shirt a month ago,” the girl wrote on June 17. In the photo, behind a group of people, including a musician, is building the Hungarian Parliament and monument Prince Ferenc II Rakoczi. Noize MC concert in Budapest passed May 24, that is, two days before the performance in Valencia.
In this photo, you can look at the print on the T-shirt more closely: for example, you can notice that the rectangles look like windows. Apparently, the image on the musician’s clothes refers to the brand name to the train “Azov”, which before the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine connected Kyiv and Mariupol. The same font is used in its design, and in the middle of the passenger cars there is a horizontal yellow stripe.
Thus, Noize MC did not wear a T-shirt with the logo or other symbols of the Azov brigade to his concert in Valencia. In fact, the T-shirt had a print with the logo of the train of the same name, which until recently ran in Ukraine.
The reasons why the musician decided to show his T-shirt to listeners are not reliably known. However, it is quite possible that he actually did this after he saw the Ukrainian flag in the hall with the coat of arms of the Ukrainian military formation. “Verified” sent Alekseev a request for comment, but at the time of publication of this analysis did not receive a response.
Cover photo: screenshot video YouTube channel Noize MC / @heyshulse (Instagram)
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