TL;DR
In a first-person questionnaire published by Meduza on October 1, 2026, Russian singer Monetochka says she initially expected Vilnius to be a stopover after leaving Russia but has grown attached to the city and may stay indefinitely. She describes building routines and friendships there while saying she does not feel she belongs to any place in the same way she does to home, family, friends and listeners.
Russian singer Monetochka says she has come to love Vilnius enough to consider staying there indefinitely, four years after moving to the Lithuanian capital at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In a first-person questionnaire published by Meduza on October 1, she describes making a life in the city while remaining unsure that she belongs anywhere in the conventional sense.
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Monetochka, whose first name is Liza, told Meduza she originally thought Vilnius would be a stopover. Instead, she said, she settled in and grew more comfortable there over time. She now knows the city’s restaurants, cafés, shops, markets, children’s venues and concert spaces, and often bikes around with her children in a trailer.
She described Vilnius as green and bike-friendly, with new corners to discover despite its relatively small size. She said the city’s slower pace was different from Moscow’s, but she adjusted quickly and has made close friends. In her view, the calm environment makes it easier to create and balance work with family life, particularly after touring.
Her account also focuses on everyday routines rather than public milestones. She visits Kalvarijos Market weekly with friends, shops at familiar stalls and enjoys its food, including cheese pirozhki and broth. She also described the annual Kaziukas fair as a personal marker of time in Lithuania, counting her years there by the number of fairs she has attended.
A Long-Term Life in Vilnius
Monetochka’s account offers a personal view of how an artist who left Russia after the invasion has built daily life abroad. Rather than describing exile only through work or politics, she points to friendships, family routines and familiar places as the substance of settling in.
Her comments also show that a stable home and a feeling of belonging are not necessarily the same thing. She says she is comfortable in Vilnius and might stay forever, yet does not expect to feel that she belongs anywhere apart from her home and the people close to her. That distinction gives the interview its central tension: she has put down roots without claiming that displacement has ended.
The piece is a personal account, not a survey of Russian emigrants or a measure of how the wider community is faring. Its value is in documenting one singer’s experience and the ordinary details through which she describes adapting to life outside Russia.
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Leaving Russia for Lithuania
According to the questionnaire, Monetochka has lived in Vilnius since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She says the move was not initially framed as permanent: she expected the city to be a temporary stop, then found herself wanting to stay.
Meduza introduced the interview as the first installment in a series about how people who left Russia are settling into new homes. The outlet said it paired a school-style questionnaire with conversations about emigrants’ lives. It described Monetochka as a singer who wrote an anthem for this wave of emigration, though the questionnaire itself centers on her experience in Vilnius.
Her family’s relationship to Lithuania differs by generation, she said. Her children were born there and have never been to Russia, so they have no personal experience of the country to compare with life in Vilnius. She said her husband is happy wherever she is happy.
“I thought Vilnius would be a stopover, but I ended up loving the city so much that I decided to stay — maybe forever.”
— Monetochka, speaking to Meduza
Belonging Remains Unsettled
Monetochka’s comments describe her feelings at the time of the interview; they do not establish whether she has made a final decision to remain in Vilnius permanently. Her wording is tentative: she says she may stay forever, not that she has committed to doing so.
The questionnaire does not provide details about her legal or residency status, her plans for future touring or work, or whether her family expects to remain in Lithuania. It also cannot show how representative her experience is of other Russians who have emigrated. The account is personal testimony, and the distinction she draws between feeling comfortable and feeling that she belongs remains unresolved.
Meduza’s Emigration Questionnaire Series
Meduza said Monetochka’s answers are the first installment in a planned series about the lives of people who left Russia and how they are settling into new homes. The outlet did not specify in the supplied report when the next installment will appear or who will take part.
For Monetochka, the interview describes no announced change to her residence or career plans. The next development identified by the report is the continuation of Meduza’s series, while the singer’s own long-term plans remain open.
Key Questions
Why did Monetochka move to Vilnius?
She told Meduza she moved there at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The questionnaire does not give further details about the circumstances of her departure.
Does Monetochka plan to stay in Vilnius permanently?
She said she may stay forever because she has grown to love the city, but she did not describe a final decision or a fixed plan.
How long has Monetochka lived in Vilnius?
She said she has lived there since the start of the war and described the period as four years in the Meduza questionnaire published October 1, 2026.
What does Monetochka say she likes about life in Vilnius?
She praised the city’s green spaces, cycling, slower pace and markets, and described making friends and developing regular family routines there.
What does Monetochka say about feeling at home?
She said she is comfortable in Vilnius but does not expect to feel that she belongs anywhere in the same way she does with her home, friends, family and listeners.
Source: rss
