There were strong reactions after Russian pop singer Alla Pugacheva, 73, criticized Putin’s war in Ukraine on Sunday. The Kremlin refuses to comment on the move.
– Pugacheva is an important voice. I think that makes an impression on people. It has an effect on VG, said Mitt Skak, a Russian expert at Aarhus University.
The singing star is perhaps the biggest celebrity in Russia – her husband, Maxim Galkin, also belongs to the top ten.
On Sunday, President Vladimir Putin condemned the waging of war in Ukraine and said that Turning Russia into a pariah state.
I wrote on social media that killing our children for fictitious goals makes our country a pariah state and makes life difficult for our citizens.
She also demanded to be called a “foreign agent” after Russian authorities recently gave that designation to her husband, TV celebrity and comedian Galkin. “Foreign agent” is a way of describing Putin’s critics, and it includes a number of restrictions and labor-intensive procedures.
Police also initiated proceedings against Galkin for violating the law prohibiting the dissemination of “false news” about the armed forces. He faces up to seven years in prison. Galkin was born in Odessa, Ukraine.
On Monday, Pugacheva will face criticism from both politics and culture in Russia. In turn, the Putin regime will not comment on the matter:
– This question has nothing to do with the Kremlin in any way. Therefore, I will not comment on it, says Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov palm.
in the museum”
On the other hand, the well-known politician Pyotr Tolstoy, one of the driving forces for the introduction of the “Foreign Agents” law, launched a strong attack on Pugacheva in Bodgom:
– I regret that Pugacheva, formerly the country’s most popular singer, has lost touch with reality and stands in solidarity with those who want Russia to lose, says the politician, who is also the deputy speaker of parliament.
It is now located in the Historical Museum of the Soviet Era. Perhaps the saddest thing for the artist is to stop feeling for his country and people, get out of the history of the motherland.
Famous actress Maria Shukshina criticizes Pugacheva on her Telegram channel:
– Why did Pugacheva decide that our soldiers, defending the Russian people in the Donbass and in their country, are less intelligent than her and do not understand why they sacrifice their blood, she wonders, reproduced before Moskovsky Komsolets.
– None of those in the foreground believe that the goal of the special operation is “illusory,” writes Shukshina – and therefore uses the same word as Pugacheva.
Pugacheva’s censorship
Rapper Timati believes that Pugacheva “smears her beloved country” and recalls that she worked half her life with the pro-Kremlin Pervyi channel, which is why she is loved throughout Russia.
Excavation journalists in Agenstvo, prepared by the independent site medusa (who also has the nickname “Foreign Agent”), reveals on Monday that the main pro-Kremlin media have not republished the full message to Pugacheva in their news articles.
They pointed out that the media included only the part where it was of interest to her asking the Justice Department to describe her as a “foreign agent” like her husband – but they omitted the part where she wrote about Russian soldiers dying for “imaginary goals.” And that Russia has become a “pariah state”.
– Agenstvo wrote that this is the second time in a short time that the pro-Kremlin media has censored Pugacheva. It also happened when she criticized “modern politicians” during Mikhail Gorbachev’s funeral, Medusa writes.
The President of Moscow for the Financial Times, Max Seddon, posted this tweet about Pugacheva:
– In it Pugacheva stands out clearly as an opponent of the war and with strong arguments, this criticism has a certain resonance, Mette Skak of Aarhus University tells VG.
– He could awaken the Russian public to understand that things are going badly in the war, and that sending you to the front has become a dangerous thing. There is a danger that the soldiers will not come back alive. I think what you say will have an impact, because she is more popular than opera singer Anna Netrebko, who has also spoken critically. One shouldn’t exaggerate the importance of cultural figures, but I’m convinced that makes an impression on people, says Mitt Skak.
Note: The Pugacheva/Galkin couple resided in Israel this spring, but returned to Russia in August and may be there now. This is the first time she has spoken publicly about the war.
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