Fans of Elton John and Marilyn Manson living in Moscow are facing tough times.

The number of international artists coming to Russia to perform has plummeted in recent months as an economic slump and currency crisis have made them too expensive for local promoters. Meanwhile, outrage caused by Russia's annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in Ukraine have led some performers to boycott the country, and Russian Orthodox Christian and other conservative activists have leaped on a wave of patriotism to agitate against artists that they disapprove of.

Since the start of last year, "the number of the concerts featuring international artists has fallen by 95 percent," said Yevgeny Morozov, the director of the Moscow event agency City Concerts. "[Foreign musicians] are not profitable anymore," Morozov said.

The hard fees demanded by international stars have not changed, but due to the depreciation of the ruble, which has fallen by one-third against the U.S. dollar over the past year, the cost for local organizers has soared.

The organizers of concerts at Crocus City Hall, a major Moscow venue, planned to host Elton John this year, but despite successfully negotiating with the musician were forced to cancel the event. "We can't afford such expensive musicians anymore," said Svetlana Bignova, a business development executive at Crocus City Hall.

For the venue to make a profit on the Elton John gig, the average ticket price would have been around 20,000 rubles ($400), according to Bignova. The average Russian earned 30,620 rubles per month, state statistics service Rosstat said in February 2015.

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