Founded by musicians from The Russian band was pelted with stones at a festival in Spain

The musicians of the Dobranotch ensemble, which was founded in France in 1998 by St. Petersburg musicians, were pelted with stones on the stage of the Pardiñas festival in Spanish Galicia. This was announced on his page in the social network by the band's frontman Mitya Khramtsov.

The ensemble performs Jewish, Gypsy, Balkan, as well as Russian folk music. According to Khramtsov, the group has repeatedly visited Spain, with which the musicians have a special connection. The team was delighted when he was invited to a major local Festival de Pardiñas.

"A few months before the event, the organizers informed us that the festival supports Palestine, and that some spectators may display Palestinian flags. They asked how we would feel, considering that our music is connected with Jewish culture. We replied that we had no objections, but we didn't want to be under pressure and make political statements from the stage," Khramtsov said.

It seemed that the position of the group was fully understood by the organizers of the festival.

When they went on stage, they noticed several Palestinian flags in the audience. Then a huge flag of Palestine was unfurled on the stage. Khramtsov interrupted Dobranotch's performance, trying to convey a simple message to the audience: "In a period of growing polarization and radicalization in many countries of the world, we must be kinder to each other."

However, the audience did not calm down, the pressure only intensified.

"They wanted me to say more, and they tried to give me a Palestinian flag so I could display it from the stage... A group of people shouted, insulted us and made hostile gestures. The man with the flag managed to get on stage. Objects, including stones, began to fly towards the stage. A stone hit one of my fellow musicians," Khramtsov stressed.

As a result, the band decided to simply leave the concert.

"Then someone from the festival team was obviously shocked by the situation, he suggested that I just say 'Freedom for Palestine' so that the performance could continue," the musician said, stressing that uttering political slogans under pressure was unacceptable for him.

The organizers later announced that the concert had been stopped for security reasons and reiterated their support for Palestine.

"After the concert, we found evidence that the protest was planned and coordinated in advance. We found posts on social networks published before the festival in which we were accused of performing in "occupied Palestine," obviously referring to the previous concert in Tel Aviv, and urged to boycott our performance," Khramtsov continued.

The musician stressed that the Dobranotch ensemble has never "faced such hostility." In his opinion, such a radicalized and hostile atmosphere at a traditional festival is a deeply sad and disturbing fact.

Dobranotch was founded in 1998 in Nantes (France) by three St. Petersburg musicians, including Mitya Khramtsov. During its existence, the band has toured more than 20 countries of the world.