Chase the Comet
A russian bands journey to political freedom
On February 24th Nika Comet awoke alone in her bed in Moscow. The night before she and her husband and bandmate Alex Mishustov played a sold out show to say farewell to their family, friends and fans as they were to begin their journey back to the states. Still on a high from playing a packed show in the center of Russia’s capital, Nika looked to her side and noticed her husband Alex was not in bed with her. Surprised by his absence, her first instinct was to locate him. She called Alex and before she could say much he said, “Have you seen the news?” Nika replied “No, you were not in bed, so I called you.” Alex was quiet before telling his wife, “the war has started, the war with Ukraine…”
Alex and Nika were aware that troops were congregating in Belarus but neither felt that there was cause for alarm.
“Despite all the news flying around I couldn’t even imagine that something like this might happen in the 21st century,” Alex said.
Alex’s mother called the morning the news broke, the pair were still reeling from the success of their farewell show as well as preparing for their flight back to the U.S., which was only days away. Their minds were focused on joy and the anticipation for their return to Los Angeles to continue their music career.
“The news about the invasion threw me down from where I was. My first reaction was to call Nika and see if she knew already,” Alex said. “Turned out she didn’t. She was in shock. We both wanted to cry and couldn’t even think what life would be like during these terrible events.”
Fortunately, Nika and Alex were able to make it back to Los Angeles before it was too late. As Russian flights were being canceled, due to many countries closing their skies to Russian airlines, the pair were still able to fly out on the 26th of February on a Turkish airline with a layover that was set to connect in Istanbul.
“Some people told me that their friends got, detained at the border because I mean Russia has gone full Stalin mode,” Nika said. “So it’s hard for people to even fly out at the moment because they get detained, their phones getting checked, all their personal information. I mean it’s fucking crazy.”
Nika and Alex first came to the states in January of 2016, originally on a tourist visa. It wasn’t until a year later that they formed their current band. The pair had been playing music together since high school and had formed two Russian bands before creating what they describe as their American band, Chase the Comet. With a post punk quality and a ska driven back beat, moments of Nika’s operatic highs contrast with the musical stylings of Ms. Stefani herself, creating what would be a symbiosis between Moscow and SoCal.
The band, now currently back in Los Angeles, publicly voiced their opposition to the war on Ukraine in livestream events as well as live shows set to raise money for Ukrainian refugees. Currently Facebook and Twitter have been banned in Russia in order to uphold the Kremlin’s version of the war. According to an article published by Vice news, any information that the Kremlin’s lower courts deems to be “fake” heeding to the Russian definition of the invasion, could land a Russian citizen a hefty fine, jail or time in a forced labor camp.
“I feel like the fact that I’m not in Russia allows me to at least speak freely, but that’s what I’ve been fighting for, you know, for so many years,” Nika said. “And though Alex and I were always saying that we did not want to apply for political refuge. I feel l do want to just keep my freedom of speech and the ability to express what I think is right and wrong, which people in Russia don’t have anymore.”
Expressing that Russian rights to speak and think freely are nothing compared to the atrocities in Ukraine, Nika stated that individuals who stand out in protest with even a blank piece of paper are taken to jail. The blank paper is a symbol of peace.
“I’m just trying to explain that, not all Russian people are bad and not all of them are supporting Putin,” Nika said. “And of course when you’re threatened to be taken to jail, you know, and you have kids or you have old parents, you’ve got something to lose and of course you’re gonna, well, do whatever you can to not lose it.”
Nika explained the reality of the war took about a week to set in and once reality hit, it hit hard. “In the beginning, as I said, most of my friends, they were just saying, ‘I really feel like it’s a nightmare that I want to wake up from.’ And like every morning I wake up and deep inside I think, ‘oh my God, let this be a fucking nightmare,’” Nika said.
“There was news about the troops pulled towards the southern border, but honestly, nobody really believed that the government is so fucking stupid to actually invade a sovereign state,” Nika said.
The pair’s most recent stint in Russia came after patiently waiting throughout the pandemic to legalize their artist visa, while also finding out their current visa had expired. The American and Russian embassies had closed their doors on immigration and Nika and Alex were caught in the crosshairs of the many pending visas.
They quickly decided to fly back to Russia to see their families, whom they had not seen while in the states for five-and-a-half years. Then eventually the two landed a consulate interview in Uzbekistan last January.
With obstacles at every turn, the pair were still uncertain if they would be able to return, even with the potential approval of their artist visas. Alex had received a letter stating structural concerns about an apartment building that listed him as co-owner, along with his parents. The issue would prevent him from leaving the borders of Russia no matter what the cause may be.
“We still bought tickets to Uzbekistan and we didn’t know if he would be able to fly or not,” Nika said. “And two weeks before the flight, the architect calls him and he says, okay, you should be fine.”
The future started to look brighter with the Russian government consenting to Alex crossing the border as well as their interview at the embassy in Uzbekistan giving them the stamp of approval to return to the U.S..
Since their arrival back in Los Angeles, they have expressed feelings of uncertainty regarding when or how they will get to see their families again, stating that returning to Russia is no longer an option.
“We wouldn’t risk it because now we have committed treason and you know I feel like [at] the moment if we [go] back there, there won’t be any way for us to get out of the country or even, you know, live freely,” Nika said. “And since, we have supported Ukraine in many ways. We are taking part in multiple fundraisers [because] that’s the right thing to do. There’s even no question.”
Although Nika’s parents don’t support the war, Nika stated that her mother still hopes that her daughter would speak less of it so she would be able to see her again.
“No, that’s not going to happen,” Nika said. “You know, I’m going to do what I think I should be doing, especially since I’m out of the country and not facing jail time for that, at least while I’m here.”
Nika said that not a lot of her friends’ parents understand the full extent of what is going on in Ukraine, as many of them watch public news stations that are closely monitored by the Russian government. Even though she feels fortunate that her own parents understand the gravity of the war, her grandmother is a different story and supports the invasion. She believes that they are the same individuals who had killed Nika’s great grandfather in WWII, due to the narrative perpetuated by the politically run news stations.
“I’m like, can you even fucking hear yourself? What are you saying? You don’t make any sense. Those people are long dead,” Nika said. “She watches TV, you know, she’s 80 something and after I was done talking to her I was fucking shaking.”
What goes on in Russia is entirely dictated by the Kremlin. As stated in a CNN article by Brian Stelter, there is no independent Russian press and western journalists no longer hold any occupancy within its borders. With a maddening amount of propaganda negating the atrocities in Bucha and hailing the evidence as tampered media, as well as false accounts of victories, many Russian citizens become the subjects of brainwashing due to the lack of informational opposition. “I feel like this is just a tragedy and I don’t know how to deal with it,” Nika said. “It’s not the worst situation. It just breaks my heart that I can’t even convince my grandma that she’s being lied to on television.”
Nika’s grandmother is one of the many who are products of propaganda, believing that the war was a necessary military operation to liberate the people of Donbas from a supposed Nazi occupation.
“This propaganda didn’t start last year or two years before,” Nika said. “It was for decades and it was playing on the most sacred feelings of some Russian people, how our grandfathers were dying during World War II. But another thing is, I guess, [that] just some people just want to stay blind.”
While residing in the U.S., Nika has been told she is being “brainwashed by the west.” However she’s not getting all of her information from western news media, Nika states that she has kept in contact with Ukrainian fans of her band while they are in the process of fleeing their country. Although she has not experienced any backlash for her Russian origin, she still grapples with the pain of her country’s government’s decisions.
“I’m ashamed to say I’m Russian,” she said. “Like in the last month I had to start coping with the thought that I have to say, oh you know, I’m from the U.S. and I’ve never felt that way before.”
Alex has also stated that he would like to refocus his energy.
“Now, after following the news for more than two months, I’ve decided to switch back to my own life. If I want to make an impact and help anyone, I must be in a stable place mentally,” Alex said. “I feel sorry for the Ukranians but I’m certain they are going to win this war.”
Some of Chase the Comet’s Ukrainian fans from Kiev have been able to flee to Poland, Nika stated, yet they cannot reach their family members who were left behind and are unsure if they’re still alive. Ukraine’s power grid was closely connected to Russia’s and it teetered on seclusion, which would’ve been catastrophic for those still in Ukraine. To address the issue the country has since been linked to the European grid in a remarkably short amount of time.
A fan from Odessa expressed to Nika that her family in Russia had not reached out. “She’s got relatives in Russia and they never even called her or her family to ask how they were doing since the start of the war. And this is what’s breaking my heart the most,” she said. “Like my grandma doesn’t want to listen to me and she considers me a person, you know, who committed treason because I live abroad. But if you have relatives in Ukraine and you trust the TV more than your actual relatives, I don’t understand how that works.”
Another fan in the city of Chernihiv Ukraine has been in contact with Nika and was also able to flee after spending three weeks in a bomb shelter.
“She was just able to get out last week,” Nika said. “She has two kids and an elderly mom with her and she’s now in Finland. But her sister stayed in Chernihiv and she has no contact with her. So I mean, I’ve been in contact with these people and trying to support them, let them know we care.”
The fan, Alona Maltseva replied to Nika sharing her story on Instagram stating, “Thank you so much. Your support with Sasha is a great help for me. I am pleased to realize that we are not alone in this huge world.”
As a current LA resident the pair have been finding it difficult to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The majority of Chase the Comet’s music was intended to be upbeat and to lift their fans’ spirits. Nika states that even sharing positive pictures feels inappropriate as well as singing positive songs. Eventually Nika found that turning her sadness into anger provided an artistic breakthrough.
“You know, it’s much easier to cope with it when it turns into anger. Cause anger is something that moves you, you know, and I feel like a lot of people are feeling the same way right now. But then from anger you can actually come to a place where you turn it into energy and then there’s less and less anger by itself,” she said.
Chase the Comet intends to continue to support Ukraine through fundraising at shows as well as through their music. Stating how hard it is for people during this time, Nika feels that artists play an important role in helping individuals know they aren’t alone.
“So I feel like [we should] write something to these people who just need to believe that there is [a] future and there’s [life] after what’s going on.”
