Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov approved the harsh crackdown (Picture: AFP)
Chechnya has banned all songs that do not have a tempo between 80 and 116 beats per minute, in a bid to stop Western music ’polluting’ their republic.
The new law was introduced by Chechnya’s culture minister, Musa Dadaev, who said he hopes it promotes more traditional music and dancing.
He said: ‘We must bring to the people and to the future of our children the cultural heritage of the Chechen people.
‘This includes the entire spectrum of moral and ethical standards of life for Chechens.
‘Borrowing musical culture from other peoples is inadmissible.’
The new rules mean world music including the samba, trance and waltz music will be banned – but the popular Russian military song ‘Victory Day’ will also be banned, as it’s at 126 BPM.
Russia, however, remains a big fan of techno music (Picture: Getty)
The Russian national anthem also falls below the required BPM – ranking at just 76 BPM.
Local artists have until June 1 to ‘rewrite their songs’ to follow the new rules – but many beloved international artists will likely never be played in the republic again.
Songs banned under Chechnya’s new music rules
Love Will Tear Us Apart, Joy Division (157 BPM)
Celebration, Madonna (129 BPM)
Dreams, The Cranberries (129 BPM)
Jungle, Fred again.. (134 BPM)
The Simpsons Theme Song (165 BPM)
My Own Summer (Shove It), Deftones (72 BPM)
Landslide, Fleetwood Mac (60 BPM)
Sandstorm, Darude (136 BPM)
The decision was approved by Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, who has ruled the Chechen Republic with an iron fist since 2007 and is a fierce Putin ally.
Chechnya – officially a part of Russia – has cracked down on other forms of dissent which they label as ‘Western’, and enacted many anti-LGBTQ laws.
Kadyrov loves dancing – but may not be able to hear his favourite tunes soon (Picture: Shutterstock)
Activists said after a wave of anti-LGBTQ persecution in 2017, dozens of men and women were detained and some died in custody.
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In response to these claims, Kadyrov said there were ‘no gay people’ in his republic – and said if there were, they should be removed.
Reports of ‘concentration camps’ for gay men in Chechnya were also reported in 2017.
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