Chechen Law Reportedly Now Forbids Music Outside 80-116 BPM

Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov has reportedly banned music that doesn’t “conform to the Chechen mentality.”

Styles of dance music like techno, house and dubstep are essentially outlawed in Chechnya, according to a recent statement. The Russian republic’s culture ministry has mandated that “all musical, vocal and choreographic works should correspond to a tempo of 80 to 116 beats per minute.”

According to The Moscow Times, the culture ministry announced as much in a statement last week. Kamzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic, reportedly said that all music must “conform to the Chechen mentality” starting on June 1. At that time, any works not rewritten to fall within that range will be deemed unfit for public performance.

Chechen Culture Minister Musa Dadayev reportedly echoed Kadyrov’s sentiment, stating, “Borrowing musical culture from other peoples is inadmissible.”

Notably affected by such a ban are dance music styles like techno, dubstep and drum and bass, which typically fall between 120-150 BPM, 132-142 BPM, and 160-180 BPM, respectively. Most house music will also fall outside this range as it typically starts at 115 BPM, as will a great deal of pop music.

A majority Muslim region, Chechnyan authorities have elicited outcry in 2017 and 2019 for what Human Rights Watch called “unlawful detentions, beatings, and humiliation of men they presume to be gay or bisexual. In 2022, the US Department of State denounced the reported abductions, which it says also took place in other parts of the Russian Federation with detainees forcibly transferred to Chechnya.

The culture ministry’s announcement of the Chechnyan ban reportedly followed its meeting with local and regional artists. It remains to be seen how strictly it will be enforced, let alone how violators will be punished after the law goes into effect in June.