On Wednesday night, the eve of U2’s first ever show in the Russian capitol of Moscow, Russian police detained activists from Amnesty International who were gathering signatures and handing out leaflets.
Amnesty weren’t the only organisation kicked out of the venue, U2’s own charity, the ONE campaign which raises awareness on AIDS were also shut down.
“It is sad that in Russia - which is considered a civilised country - the collection of petition signatures so worries the authorities,” head of Amnesty International’s Moscow office Sergei Nikitin said to AFP. “You get the impression that the authorities are afraid of their own citizens.”
“I don't know if Bono knows about what happened to us,” he said, noting that Bono was one of the organisations chief campaigners.
"It was a typical publicity event, which this organisation has carried out in every city where U2 has performed.”
While the band were in Moscow Bono met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to discuss preventing the spread of HIV. He praised Medvedev as “gracious” on stage, but invited Yury Shevchuk - a Russian rock star known for his attacks on the Kremlin - on stage to play Bob Dylan’s ‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’.
The show was part of the band’s 360 tour. Remaining dates are:
AUGUST
30 - Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna, Austria
SEPTEMBER
3 - Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece
6 - Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey
11 - Letzigrund Stadium, Zurich, Switzerland
12 - Letzigrund Stadium, Zurich, Switzerland
15 - Olympic Stadium, Munich, Germany
18 - Stade De France, Paris, France
22 - Stade Roi Boudoin, Brussels, Belgium
23 - Stade Roi Boudoin, Brussels, Belgium
26 - Anoeta Stadium, San Sebastian, Spain
30 - Olympic Stadium, Seville, Spain
OCTOBER
2 - Estadio Cidade Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
3 - Estadio Cidade Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
8 - Olympic Stadium, Rome, Italy
25 - Mt. Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
DECEMBER
1 - Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
8 - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia
13 - ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia
18 - Subiaco Oval, Perth, Australia
MAY
21 - Invesco Field, Denver, Colorado (rescheduled from 12 June, 2010)
24 - Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah (rescheduled from 3 June, 2010)
JUNE
1 - Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada (rescheduled from 23 June, 2010)
4 - Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington (rescheduled from 20 June, 2010)
7 - Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California (rescheuled from 16 June, 2010)
17 - Angel Stadium, Anaheim, California (rescheduled from 6 June, 2010)
18 - Angel Stadium, Anaheim, California (rescheduled from 7 June, 2010)
26 - Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan (rescheduled from 30 June, 2010)
29 - Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida (rescheduled from 9 July, 2010)
JULY
5 - Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois (rescheduled from 6 July, 2010)
8 - Montreal Hippodrome, Montreal, Canada (rescheduled from 16 July, 2010)
9 - Montreal Hippodrome, Montreal, Canada (rescheduled from 17 July, 2010)
11 - Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada (rescheduled from 3 July, 2010)
14 - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (rescheduled from 12 July, 2010)
20 - New Meadowlands Stadium, New York, New York (rescheduled from 19 July, 2010)
23 - TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota (rescheduled from 27 June, 2010)
