In an attempt to banish Western cultural influences, authorities in the Republic of Chechnya are banning music they deem too fast or too slow.
The Chechen Ministry of Culture formally announced the new musical restrictions on April 3, specifying that all musical, vocal, and choreographic works are now required to correspond to a tempo of 80 to 116 beats per minute (BPM) to “conform to the Chechen mentality and sense of rhythm.”
Music listeners in the 6,700-square-mile autonomous Russian republic would be prohibited from consuming songs and compositions ranging from Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008), Dua Lipa’s “Houdini” (2024), and even the national anthem of Russia. The decision is just the latest in the country’s crackdown on civil liberties, including women and LGBTQ+ rights, since authoritarian leader Ramzan Kadyrov came into power in 2007.
“We must bring to the people and the future of our children the cultural heritage of the Chechen people: customs, traditions, our adats, nokhchalla – features of the Chechen character, which includes the entire spectrum of moral, moral and ethical standards of life of the Chechens,” culture minister Musa Magomedovich Dadaev said in an official statement.
