Inmates at notorious Russian jail forced to constantly listen to Bon Jovi, Moby
They’ve gotta hold on, ready or not …
Inmates at a notoriously strict Russian jail are bombarded each day with the same 13 songs — most by vegan DJ Moby or soft rockers Bon Jovi, according to a former detainee.
The songs, also including AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” and a handful of Russian hits, are blared daily at Kapotyna-7 detention center, where poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny was once held, Newsweek first reported.
“This playlist is repeated day after day, month after month,” Grigory Melkonyants, the head of Russia’s beleaguered election watchdog, Golos, wrote on Telegram of his time being held there in August.
“They are heard every morning by thousands of Russians awaiting trial, including political prisoners,” he said.
Melkonyants even shared a public Spotify playlist of the 13 songs blasted each morning “so you can understand how [detainees] feel.
“You will be surprised by many of the songs on this playlist,” he suggested — with tracks including at least three from Moby: “Honey,” “Bodyrock” and “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?”
As well as a live version of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” there are two tracks by New Jrersey rockers Bon Jovi — “One Wild Night” and “It’s My Life.”
The latter, Newsweek noted, was used by Bon Jovi in a video wishing “Glory to Ukraine” after it was invaded by Russian forces in February last year.
For a touch of patriotism, Kapotyna-7’s residents are also treated to the booming sounds of Russia’s national anthem, along with a selection of songs about Moscow from decades past.
Other entries on the 13-song Spotify playlist include a couple of Soviet classics with titles like “I Love You, Life” and “Where Fatherland Begins.”
Reps for Bon Jovi and Moby did not respond to requests for comment, Newsweek said.
Kapotnya-7 previously housed Navalny, before he was transferred to another prison to serve a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, fraud and contempt of court.
Another former inmate, Ilya Yashin, an opposition figure who was arrested in June 2022, described in a Facebook post the detention center’s draconian rules, which he called a “red regime.”
According to Yashin, one of his cellmates was thrown into solitary confinement as punishment for making himself a cup of tea after the lights-out command.
Besides political prisoners, Kapotyna-7 holds organized crime bosses, dissident artists, businessmen and suspected terrorists.
