I didn't know this but U2 performed their first concert in Russia ever today. The setlist was somewhat normal; they only played one new song which was the 'Stingray' opener. Pride and Ultraviolet made their comeback, so I'm sure the Russians were happy about that. To many fans' disappointment unrelated to U2, it apparently rained very hard during U2's performance :[
While things were good on the inside, petitioners and activists for groups such as Greenpeace, One Campaign and others were bullied by police and were shut down. Apparently their approach was illegal; whether this is true or not remains unknown. Bono was noted to be 'perplexed' by the situation and I'm sure validated why U2 has not been there before. Police and security forces in and around the area were observed to be very heavy and intense, as seen above in U2.com's photo. It's kind of surprising why U2 didn't do at least two Russian concerts, but perhaps this explains why...
-A. Kennedy
@U2 Moscow Article
Seems like a good thing U2 performed there (sure there was a lot of demand for Bono and crew), but also seems like a hassle as well.
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