Reeztochka

Reeztochka Рыжьточка
Reeztochka at the premier of Uncle Claus
Background information
Birth name	Fazu Andreevna Gutnikova
Born	(1998-12-06) 6 December 1998 Osti, High Archduchy of Cosacakaya
Genres	Indie pop, alternative pop, pop rock, electronic, lo-fi
Instruments	Vocals, keyboard
Years active	2018 – present

Reeztochka (Russian: Рыжьточка, lit. 'Little Redhead') is the stage name of Fazu Andreevna Gutnikova (born 6 December 1998), a Artic Lipkan Cosacakayan activist and singer-songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of combining pop rock with electronic, lo-fi and introspective political undertones in her songwriting about the political situation in Cosacakaya criticizing the government.

Reeztochka had expressed interest in poetry and music in her early teens, and soon started performing at local venues. She first attracted a following in 2016 when she first began publishing her music online. However it was the release of her single `"Suffering No More" after her arrest during the 2018 Cosacakaya Constitutional Crisis in the end of 2018 that the singer gained mass popularity in Cosacakaya. After the success of her single, she signed with Cosacakayan Modern Music Group (CMMG) in early 2019 and immediately began collaborating with producer Nikolay Ipjian to start recording music.

Her debut studio album Млрд (billion) was released that same year and saw widespread critical and commercial success in Cosacakaya. The album helped Reeztochka's rise to prominence and secure a role in the war film No land for young men (2020) - for which she helped curate the soundtrack. Afterwards, she fell out with Nikolay and  CMMG over creative differences. These were emphasised in the release of her song Run, run, run several weeks after the Mozdok School Siege - in the music video she condemned the police response to the crisis - in which CMMG denied any involvement in its production.

Reeztochka's second studio album 2021 received widespread critical acclaim from her fans, but was criticised for venturing into politics and societal critic. Yet still the album reached number one in Cosacakaya. Today Reeztochka and her contemporary Dina Gyrdymova are considered one of the figures of third-wave feminism, politician activism, and support for LGBT community in the music industry in Cosacakaya. She has been named one the most influential woman under 30 in Cosacakaya and attempts of censorship of her music since 2021 led to outpouring support throughout Cosacakaya and abroad.

Life and career

1998–2017: Early life

Photograph of Reeztochka on her 6th birthday.

Fazu Andreevna Gutnikova was born 6 December 1998 in Novolipka, Cosacakaya a suburb of Osti to Andrei Lysyuk a construction worker and poet and stay-at-home mother Elena Alexandrovna Gutnov. Her mother was born to a Jewish Cosacakayan father who died a year after she was born and a North Lipkan mother from the north of Cosacakaya, while her father is full of North Lipkan descent. According to Reeztochka, she inherited her red hair from her Cosacakayan grandfather.

Reeztochka is the second of three children: she has an older brother Oleg and a younger sister Rita. From early childhood, she wrote poems and songs for fun, and later began publishing them on the internet. This was encouraged by her mother, who enrolled her in several musical groups, piano classes and poetry competitions at her local school. At school she excelled at music and literature and won several talent shows.

Growing up, her family financial situation was difficult and her father was forced to long hours, while her mother frequently worked side jobs such as selling flowers to pay the bills. They were often forced to wait hours to collect food aid from the local government. In 2021, she told fans that they once waited ten hours to get food from a nearby food bank and how they nearly starved without the support of UNICEF.

After she started high school, Reeztochka began recording her songs as a hobby and at the behest of her friends, started publishing her music online. By 2016, she had gained a sizable following when she first began posting of her performing song she composited under the pseudonym "Reeztochka" or "Little Redhead" on social media. According to Reeztochka, she chose the name because that was the nickname her friends and family gave her because of her hair. Many of the original songs were record with a synthesizer and piano in her bedroom. Shortly after one of her songs when viral, she created a channel on a video sharing site and started uploading videos of her songs on her new channel for fun.

2017–2018: Career beginnings

Reeztochka talks about her arrest during protests in an interview with Friends of the Lipkan.

In May 2017, Reeztochka won her school's annual talent show and several weeks later she surprisingly when on to win the Novolipka Annual Talent Show. As a result she was invited on Late Night with Boris September that year to perform the original song that won the contest. Later she also made a guest appearance on Cosacakayan Broadcasting Corporation Radio 2 and performed a cover of Oleskow's Mother Osti.

However with her final exams approaching, Reeztochka was forced to delay any further performances at the behest of her parents. Nevertheless, she continued to perform with her school band and work with a vocal coach twice week until the end of the school year. After graduating, she started performing covers live on a regular basis at local venues, including cafés, bars, and small concert halls. She studied part-time music at the Royal Institute of Cinematography, Osti to focus on her music career.

As the 2018 Cosacakaya Constitutional Crisis erupted in 2018, Reeztochka was politically involved in the subsequent protests and active as an organizer with the Cosacakayan Movement For Democracy. She raised money for konctitkis through concerts - several of which her shutdown by police. For her work, Reeztochka was reportedly harassed by the Oprichnina and had her flat raided several times. Amid Black Thursday, she was one of thousands who were arrested by the Oprichnina. While in prison, she wrote Страданий больше нет ( Suffering No More) about her experiences.

At the end of 2018, the singer self-released her single Страданий больше нет on her channel for free download. The song was an immediate success and had been downloaded nearly 100,000 times and later peaked at number three in Cosacakaya by January 2019. The success of it thrust her into the spotlight and the singer gained enormous popularity in Cosacakaya.

2019 - 2020: Млрд

After the massive success of Страданий больше нет, she was approached by Cosacakayan Modern Music Group (CMMG) in early 2019 to sign with them and immediately begin working on an album. Music producer Nikolay Ipjian repeatedly met with her in order to convince her of signing and collaborating with him. Reeztochka later admitted that she was worried about signing for Cosacakayan Modern Music Group over their ties to the Cosacakayan government and the Oprichnina. Eventually, she gave in and signed for CMMG in early 2019.

Reeztochka was the voice actor of Leyska in Uncle Claus.

Reeztochka's debut studio album Млрд (Billion) containing her hit single Страданий больше нет was released to in June 2019 to widespread critical and commercial success in Cosacakaya; it was voted the best album of the year. The album was applauded for the distinctive features of many of the albums' songs using poetry and word play to reflect on family issues, the role of social media in people's lives, and the day-to-day reality of many Cosacakayans. While several of her songs received attention for discussing difficult topics with a deliberately "childish" performances. The album sold over 500,000 copies in Cosacakaya and in October of the same year, the album was reissued with some previously unreleased and remixed.

The success of her album propelled Reeztochka's rise to prominence in pop culture and several of her songs were featured in major blockbuster films and tv shows that year. She was voted the most influential woman under 30 in Cosacakaya. What's New! included her in their list of the most women under 30 in the world in 2019 and 2020.

As a result of her success, CMMG entered into negotiations with Voropol Royal Academy of Film for her inclusion in their upcoming historical war film No land for young men. Once an agreement was reached after several weeks of negotiations, Reeztochka agreed to the deal to feature in the film and play a major role curating the soundtrack, worth a reported US$1.5 million.   The film was a major domestic success in Cosacakaya and her acting in her role as a nurse during wartime was widely praised by critics. Similarly the soundtrack was described as perfect and Oleg Kostyushkin asserted that the film "would be unimaginable without her and Nikolay Ipjian work with the soundtrack."

Following the film's success, she was approached by Cosacakayan National Film Studio to curate the soundtrack and be actor of Leyska in their upcoming computer-animated musical fantasy film Uncle Claus. After producers listened to a series of vocal tracks by Reeztochka, she was cast as the voice of Leyska in September 2020. The film was an instant domestic success and was one of the first Cosacakayan musicals to have major international success.

Film critics hailed Reeztochka's exceptional voice acting as Leyska and her role with the soundtrack - which received critical acclaim and garnered widespread praise from critics and fans alike. The success of "Uncle Claus" further solidified Reeztochka's status as the prominent Cosacakayan artist in the entertainment industry on the international stage with What's New! describing her as 'the most famous Cosacakayan not apart of the Cosacakayan Royal Family.'

2021 - present: Наша любовница

Reeztochka posing for What's New! in June 2021.

After the commercial success with her role in the war film No land for young men (2020) and her work helping curate the soundtrack, media reports began to circulate of a rift between Nikolay Ipjian and herself. These rumours intensified after it came out that their was no plans for Reeztochka to continue producing music with CMMG and that she had stopped speaking to Nikolay Ipjian. By May 2021, Reeztochka confirmed that she had parted ways with CMMG over creative differences and would produce her own music.

These differences were emphasised in the release of her song Беги, беги, беги ( Run, run, run), who's lyrics are written from the perspective of troubled and delusional non-Cosacakayan youths and their difficult relationship with the police following the Mozdok School Siege. After the release of the song, CMMG denied any involvement in its production. In an interview, Reeztochka said she produced the song in order to she condemned the police response to the crisis and expose the painful associations, social taboos, fears to all Cosacakayans. These included shaved heads with neo—Nazism, the inclusion of Buryat script and the death of Reeztochka at the end of the music video.

Reeztochka revealed on 20 June 2021 during an interview with What's New! that she started working on her second studio album now that she had complete control over the creative direction of the album. On 25 July 2021, Reeztochka was the headlining act for Osti Spring Music Fest and during the live show sung the first song from her new album Наша любовница (our lover). "Наша любовница" was released on 26 July, as the lead single from her second studio album of the same name, which was released on 26 August to divided reviews.

Reeztochka's second studio album received widespread critical acclaim from her fans for singing about difficult issues with society, including racism, religious tension, sexism, exploring the role of third-wave feminism in Cosacakaya, authoritarianism and the treatment of how non-Cosacakayan youths. The album received considerable attention for its portrayal of youth teenage disillusionment of Monarchy of Cosacakaya and critiques of mainstream Cosacakayan culture. However many criticised it for venturing into politics and societal critic. In spite this, the album reached number one and sold more than 10 million units in Cosacakaya.

In 2022, Reeztochka released the single страшно (scary) with Dina Gyrdymova dedicated to refugees from the Buryatya Conflict and announced that all funds from listening to the song on all streaming sites will be directed to helping people displaced from the conflict.

In the summer of 2024, Reeztochka was arrested again ny [PLACEHOLDER]

Public image and impact

Reeztochka's songwriting and style strongly influenced Galata (left) and Maybe Girl (right) music.

Reeztochka's music, life and image are points of attention in Cosacakayan celebrity culture and she has had a lasting impact on modern music scene. During her short time in the spotlight, she has become a dominant figure in Cosacakayan popular culture and has often referred to as Cosacakaya's first pop icon. Critics have praised her for being a positive influence numerous music artists since 2020, and inspiring many of the latest generation of female artists in Cosacakaya.

Many critics has noted her image is the most polished in the Cosacakayan music industry and that she works hard to keep it that way. She has said that she pays particular attention to her appearance and to the staging of her live performances. This was because of the Cosacakayan Modern Music Group wanting her to mantain a constant image for branding reasons. After their public split, Reeztochka has sought to move away from the public image created for her by CMMG.

According to the singer, she carefully crafts her imagine when performing and works hard to keep it consistent throughout the different stages of her career.

At the beginning of her career, Reeztochka often dressed similar to an anime girl, wearing combishort, long socks and having her hair long that was either dyed her hair or she wore wigs. According to Reeztochka, she dressed like that because her manager thought her music would more likely to appeal to girls and young women like her of 15 years old with pink hair. She also wanted to be different from other female singers at the time used nudity or sex to be popular; which she says detracts from music.

After the release of her album Наша любовница, she changed her style, wearing more often than not long dresss, having her hair in a triple bun, and joined by a piano. She told What's New! that she wanted a change after her public split with CMMG and wanted to present herself as being more mature looking now that she had more creative control on her imagine.

Her style has had a significant impact on several up and coming female music stars in Cosacakaya. Maybe Girl said that she often dyes her hair blue and styles her live performances similar to Reeztochka; describing her as her idol. Galata has also mentioned the impact that Reeztochka on her music and the way she presents herself - including the use of poetry in her music and cleanly presenting herself in live performances without relying on selling sex. In an interview, Galata credited her for opening doors for girls like her. She said "girls are taught in Cosacakaya that the only way to make it in the music industry is to strip for the camera. Reeztochka showed that talent can do that too."

• 

  Reeztochka performing at a concert at Osti Spring Music Fest in 2020, wearing combishort, long socks and having her hair long. She would often dress to look younger.
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  Reeztochka at Fan Fest Voropol in 2022, wearing a long dress, her hair in a triple bun and accompanied by paino.

Philanthropy

Reeztochka became the "Enough is Enough" Campaign Ambassador in September 2022.

Reeztochka has supported several charitable organisations and publicly involved herself in several philanthropic causes since her breakthrough in 2019. She has raised money for organisations aimed at improving the lives of poor families and reducing child hunger in Cosacakaya - in particular because of her own experience growing up. Proceeds from her song Беги, беги, беги were given to victims of the Mozdok School Siege and Reeztochka performed at several concerts raising money for the families of those who lost children during the massarce.

The proceeds from Reeztochka's single страшно (scary) with Dina Gyrdymova were donated to the charity Cosacakaya Cares Foundation, which helps refugees from the Buryatya Conflict in times of need. Both singers announced that all funds from listening to the song on all streaming sites would directed to helping people displaced from the conflict. During her Cosacakaya Cares Tour, she raised nearly $250,000 for charities involved in helping internally displaced people.

The following year, made a $30,000 donation to the Feed the Children Foundation that provides free school lunches to underprivileged schoolchildren. This was followed by her performing at the Only Love Mozdok benefit concert for the victims of the  Mozdok School Siege - which was broadcast live on September 14, 2022, with its organiser, rapper Alexander Ponomarev, on radio, streaming services and television stations around the world.

Reeztochka openly identifies as a feminist, and began appearing in April 2022 in a video campaign for the "Enough is Enough" that aimed to spreading female empowerment and improving literacy among  Lipkan women. On 23 September 2022, Reeztochka became the "Enough is Enough" Campaign Ambassador for her work with the charity Lipkan Women's Empowerment Organisation in increasing for disenfranchised women and young girls in Cosacakaya. She arranged for a portion of the money generated from tickets to her Winter Tour 2022 to go to the charity to support their work.

Controversy

Photo With Opposition Flag

Reeztochka holds the flag of the Cosacakayan Movement For Democracy during a concert.

On 12th of January 2023, the singer was recorded singing a protest songs during a concert supporting Buryatyan independence and chanting Lipkan nationalist slogans with the white-blue-white flag of the Cosacakayan Movement For Democracy in her hands. In the footage, the singer invited her fans in attendance to join in and chant “Freedom for Buryatya” and “Glory to Democracy! ” Most of those in attendance joined in the chants with loud cheers and applause.

Many nationalists and veterans of the Buryatya Conflict were outraged by the singer's actions. Many viewed it as a direct attack on the Cosacakayan government's actions during conflict and blasted Reeztochka in the media. Many described her actions as treasonous and claimed that she was an agent for the Buryatyan Liberation Army. Andrei Batunin mocked the singer’s ‘desperation’ for attention and chants for the trivial desire of the amusement of the public.

Many within the government called for the Ministry of Justice to consider a wide range of punishments for the singer - from a criminal case charging her with treason to deprivation of citizenship. Officially the Ministry didn’t comment on any of these demands and a spokesman told the press that lawyers were ‘looking into the matter regarding the singer, but no official decision had been made yet.’

Nevertheless on 26 January 2023, she officially had been summoned for questioning by the local police for alleged ties to the Buryatyan Liberation Army and for spreading disinformation against the public good. After ten hours in custody, she was charged with the “public support of terrorist symbols” for chanting “Freedom for Buryatya” and spent 2 weeks in jail.

Support from other musicians in Reeztochka’s defence was swift and many called for her release. Maybe Girl alleged during a concert that the authorities targeted Reeztochka because of her political activism, and her arrest was ‘baseless’ and her charges of supporting Buryatyan Liberation Army "just an excuse" to arrest her. Rapper Alexander Ponomarev released a single По барабану (On the drum) about Reeztochka’s plight while the singer was still in jail which picked up over 400,000 views in under 24 hours. Despite public pressure, the singer was forced to serve all 14 days and was met by enormous crowds after her release.

Talking to those in the in attendance, Reeztochka told the crowd that "she had been longing to break free" but after she was released, she understood that "outside the iron door that she had been rotting in, there is another kind of prison with invisible iron doors."

Ministry of Justice Investigation

Screenshot from music video Run, run, run released several weeks after the Mozdok School Siege.

After the release of her song Run, run, run several weeks after the Mozdok School Siege, members of the Ministry of Justice expressed 'concern for minors' over her music video - which featured shaved heads of neo—Nazism, the inclusion of Buryat script expressing antigovernmental slogans and the death of Reeztochka at the end of the music video. Several organisations representing the concerns of parents, also called out the music video for 'excessive violence' and glamouring school shootings.

On June 28, 2021, lawyer Sergei Afanasyev reported that the prosecutor's office that charges should be filed against the singer for prompting child suicide, treason, and traumatising minors. Several days later the Ministry of Justice announced an investigation for supporting the terror actions and of supporting the terror actions. The Ministry of Justice also pressured the singer to take the video off social media - to which Reeztochk refused.

This investigation was publicity supported by members of the royal family and Cyrene III, High Archduchess of Cosacakaya in particular was reportedly extremely outraged by this work and said in an interview she should be arrested for spreading terrorist propaganda.

However, many famous artists and celebrities' including Dina Gyrdymova, Internal Destruction and even footballer Mykyta Karavayev defended the performer and her song, stating that one the song was a parody on police brutuality and a societal critic on the treatment of non-Cosacakayans by the authorities. This opinion was supported by many of her fans, who staged protests against the investigation and by late-2021, the Ministry of Justice's investigation was closed under growing public pressure.

Public image

Support of LGBTQ Rights

Reeztochka holds dolls of heterosexuals' couple in a social media post condemning Homophobic laws passed in 2020 .

Reeztochka has publicly advocated for LGBT rights and opposed the government's homophobic position on the issue. Reeztochka admitted to that she supports the issue because homophobic bullying of a childhood friend that eventually resulted in him taking his own life in 2010. While her cousin is lebisan and was forced to flee the country because of homophobic abuse.

In early 2020 Reeztochka was an early opponent to the Parliament of Cosacakaya discussions of passing new laws criminalising same-sex relationships. These laws were supported by Cyrene III, High Archduchess of Cosacakaya and members of the nobility who sought to combat rising 'pedophilia' in Cosacakaya. In February of that year federal law was passed ban the distribution of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships" among minors was passed. If found guilty, then Cosacakaya citizens could face huge fines and public officials should be arrested and charities could also be forced to cease operations for up to 90 days.

In February 2020, she released a video message in support of LGBT people in Cosacakaya. She declared that all people are equal and those laws were illegal. During an interview later that month she contended the law made it illegal holding any sort of public demonstration in favour of gay rights, speak in defence of LGBT rights, and distribute material related to LGBT culture, or to state that same-sex relationships are equal to heterosexual relationships

This was followed by a social media post on her accounts of a photo of herself holding two dolls of heterosexuals' couple with the caption; this is not normal. You love women, she loves men, I love to walk, and men can love men. The post was warmly received abroad and younger Cosacakayans, but she was lambasted by the government for spreading 'anti-Cosacakayan values' and "propagating pedophilia" to minors. According to Cosacakayan Movement For Democracy, she was fined 100,000 Euros

Political Activism

Reeztochka has used her celebrity to support numerous pro-democracy organisations.

Before she became famous, Reeztochka was politically active and involved in protests during the 2018 Cosacakaya Constitutional Crisis. According to the singer, she was an active organizer with the Cosacakayan Movement For Democracy at her university and raised money for the movement. As a result of her political activity, she was harassed by the Oprichnina and had her flat raided several times; later being arrested by the Oprichnina.

However, once she reached mainstream success, Reeztochka refrained from openly discussing politics because of her contract with Cosacakayan Modern Music Group prohibited her from taking any public political position, This was supported by her agent wanting to maintain an innocent, anime girl image during that stage of her career. This was a source of significant tension between the singer and CMMG that eventually blew up in 2021, when Reeztochka confirmed that she had parted ways with CMMG over creative differences and take control over her image.

Since then, Reeztochka has actively and publicly been supporting various pro-democracy organisations in Cosacakaya and raised over $250,000 paying for the legal defenses of many detained activists. Reeztochka, along with other celebrities have addressed the crowds at demanding the release of the arrest Alexander, Grand Prince of Cosacakaya in an anti-government demonstration marking the 3rd anniversary of Black Thursday. During the protest, the singer described it as "the darkest day in Cosacakayan history."

A supporter of the Cosacakayan Movement For Democracy and an strong opponent towards discrimination against the non-Cosacakayan majority Reeztochka is a vocal critic of Cosacakayan supremacy, racism in Cosacakayan society, and rampant police brutality towards non-Cosacakayan. Reeztochka repeatedly urged fans to vote against pro-government candidates during local elections and raised money for bailout arrested activists.

Personal Life

Photo released by the singer after she announced that she was getting engaged.

Though Reeztochka has been reluctant to publicly discuss her personal life with the media, believing it to be "pointless for her career" and a "distraction from her career", it is still a topic of widespread media attention and tabloid speculation in the country. In spite of best efforts, she has been repeatedly romantically linked with a number of Cosacakayan celebrities.

After the release of No land for young men (2020), the singer was linked by the media with dating her co-star Semyon Seitov. These rumours intensified after Reeztochka and Semyon were seen eating at a restaurant together after she was nominated with Nikolay Ipjian for the Best Album of the Year after 2020 Cosacakaya Music Awards. This led to tabloids to declare that need they were a couple. Quickly both she and Semyon denied that they were involved and just 'friends'.

In mid-2021, according to the publication Lentra 2, the singer began dating her long time friend, [PLACEHOLDER] after the pair were frequently pictured together. Later that fall, the singer confirmed long-standing rumors about a romantic relationship with her longtime friend. Later Reeztochka announced that she was engaged with her long-time partner [PLACEHOLDER] in a photo showing their hands with their engagement rings. In the caption she wrote "Very soon I am going to get married" The accompanied her post with a photograph. Reeztochka was congratulated by numerous including singers Dina Gyrdymova, Galata, Alexander Ponomarev and Maybe Girl, her former music producer Nikolay Ipjian, and in co-star Semyon Seitov.

The couple confirmed that they were indeed married in a video posted on her social media several months later and made their first appearance as a married couple during an interview in Cosacakayan Tonight. In June 2023, the couple announced on social media that they were expecting their first child and confirmed rumours that they were expecting a girl.

In 2018, Reeztochka stated that she considers herself [PLACEHOLDER] and described her family as 'very religious.' In an interview, Reeztochka admitted that her family regularly took part in [PLACEHOLDER religious] celebrations, but she is critical of the role religion plays in people's lives.

Accolades and achievements

After her breakthrough album, Reeztochka won four Cosacakaya Music Awards including the best breakthrough album of the year at the 2019 ceremony. At aged 19, she was the youngest ever winner and first teenager to win the album of the year in Cosacakaya. Her debut single Страданий больше нет earned multiple awards and nominations from 2019 to 2020. It was also shortlisted for the Best Debut Song and the Best Song of the Year.

With her role in curating the soundtrack for the film No land for young men (2020) she was nominated with Nikolay Ipjian for the Best Album of the Year. She was also received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her rule as a nurse in the film. Her second album Наша любовница wasn’t nearly as successful and she didn’t receive a single nomination for it because of its political nature. This was in spite of the widespread critical acclaim from her fans for it and the album reaching number in Cosacakaya. In response, the 2021 Cosacakayan Music Awards was boycotted by her fans and many other artists over the decision of the Royal Academy Arts and Sciences to exclude her.

In 2019, she was voted the most influential woman under 30 in Cosacakaya and What's New! included her in their list of the most women under 30 in the world in 2019 and 2020.

Discography

Albums

• 2020 - Млрд (billion)
• 2021 - Наша любовница (our lover)

Collaborations

• 2022 - Страшно (scary) with Dina Gyrdymov

Singles

• 2018 - Страданий больше нет ( Suffering No More)
• 2021 — Беги, беги, беги (Run, run, run)