Russian World War II veterans may be ordered...
Veterans have freely performed war-related songs for decades, with many of them being accepted as "folk" across the country due to their huge popularity. The Russian Authors" Society (RAO), however, has reminded veterans that the songs have authors who should be paid for their work, Vesti said.
The claim against the organizers of a concert in the Russian Volga city of Samara came less than two months ahead of Victory Day celebrations on May 9. The concert was dedicated to the upcoming 65th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.
"Claims were made against the administration [of the organizers of the concert] regarding the performance of songs in Russian," the deputy head of the Volga region"s branch of the Russian Authors" Society, Tatyana Fedoseyenko, told Vesti.
Veterans argue the songs help to hand down memories of the war to their grandchildren. They have wondered if it is not a crime if they will be forced to pay for that.