Rammstein’s Till Lindemann was questioned by Russian police before the cancellation of the frontman’s appearance at a music festival in Tver.

The musician was booked to perform at the Maclarin For Homeland festival this weekend (August 29) but pulled out.

Although it was previously claimed that Lindemann had been arrested, it is now reported that he was not detained, but questioned in his hotel room by police. The authorities wanted to speak to the star about the event, which allegedly would have violated the country’s COVID-19 policies. He has not commented on the incident at present.

According to Louder, a post on the festival website – which is now unaccessible – denied the fact the event would have broken those protocols, claiming attendees would be separated into groups of 500.

Lindemann’s manager Anar Reiband was also questioned by police after it was claimed he violated Russia’s migration laws. Reiband is said to have claimed the purpose of his visit to Russia was tourism, despite Lindemann having more than one concert booked in the country. He has also not commented on the incident at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, a museum in Russia has also taken action against Lindemann, alleging his sale of NFTs bearing its imagery is “unauthorised”. The musician entered the world of non-fungible tokens earlier this month by selling VIP-style access to him along with special digital artwork.

The NFT featured footage of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, which was originally shot for Lindemann’s ‘Любимый город’ [Beloved Town] video. While he had been granted permission to film there for the clip, the museum claims the musician breached the terms of their agreement by selling NFTs that include materials shot on its premises.