As one of the options for punishment, a ban on the participation of “renegades” in Russian projects is considered. Meanwhile, many stars remaining in Russia are experiencing a new peak of fame and popularity.
From the stars who spoke out in support of the CBO, one could easily compose a full-fledged Blue Light program. The personalities here are all like a match: venerable and famous, time-tested, familiar to more than one generation of Russians. One of the first to declare his position was Nikolai Baskov. Already in the very first days of the special operation, the “golden voice of Russia” proclaimed: “30 years of unprincipled deception of our country by the West are over.” And even after a stream of criticism and hatred fell upon him, the courageous artist did not change his position: “I have a simple choice – I am for Russia, the president and my people.”
On the stage as at the forefront
Oleg Gazmanov behaved no less steadfastly. The author of incendiary hits made it clear to everyone that love for the Motherland is more important for him than any intra-corporate relations. So, he frankly compared the departure of artists who left the country with the betrayal of their mother. When, during the New Year’s party in Dubai, Gazmanov, who spoke at the corporate party, was demanded to publicly show his attitude towards the NWO, he did not succumb to the provocation and asked to leave him behind. In recent months, the singer has performed in hospitals more than once, and now he is developing his new project – “Springs” – to create a catalog of patriotic songs. “We want there to be musical and poetic material that would help our country, develop it,” he said. Now in the top of the catalog is “Ballad about the boys who became fighters of the Russian army.” It is said about the heroes of the song that before they “merged with gangs of punks” and “sought the truth in wine”, but then they got into the army and realized that “they are needed nowhere more than the priceless Motherland.” The project promises to be successful – last week it became known that the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives allocated 17 million rubles for the development of Rodniki. Alexander Rozenbaum, Grigory Leps, Sergey Bezrukov, Alexander F. Sklyar, Olga Kormukhina, Larisa Dolina, Yuri Galtsev repeatedly performed with concerts in hospitals and before the residents of Donbass. And Vladimir Presnyakov, Viktor Rybin and Natalya Senchukova, whose songs the whole country sang in the 90s, donated their fees for concerts to the needs of the SVO. Comedian Mikhail Galustyan did not stand aside either. He not only makes fun of Western politicians, but also trains – Galustyan is the president of the Federation of Military Tactical Games of Russia.
It is also worth noting that those who say that it is mainly representatives of the older generation of artists who speak out in support of the CBO are wrong. Olga Buzova showed her position almost immediately. The actress, singer and TV presenter visited Donbass, handing over humanitarian aid. “Today I saw how happy the kids were when they saw me. Everyone talks about love for the country and people, but a few were and helped where I was, ”she said.
And, of course, how can one forget Yaroslav Dronov, better known as Shamán, who actually became the musical symbol of the SVO. Previously, he performed romantic love songs and was little known, but on February 23, the day before the start of the special operation, Dronov posted his clip “Let’s Get Up” on the Web. The creation of the 30-year-old singer has collected tens of millions of views, thanks to which Dronov instantly became famous and even sang the Russian anthem with Vladimir Putin on Red Square. It must be assumed that the young singer still has a lot of success ahead, since there is someone to develop and support his talent. Dronov’s wife is Elena Martynova, in the recent past the deputy general director of the USM holding Alisher Usmanov. Being the winner of the “Best PR Director of Russia” award, Martynova will certainly help her husband take his rightful place in the Russian musical firmament.
Criticism from the side
However, there is always something to strive for and something to improve. Shortly before the New Year, Vladimir Kiselyov, the frontman of the musical group Zemlyane, addressed the authorities with an open letter. The position expressed by him caused a lot of controversy. Having first nailed the representatives of the “liberal party” that criticized state policy, Kiselyov then attacked the presidential administration, reproaching it with the wrong work with the cultural environment. “I consider it an absolute profanation to hold some unthinkable concerts in cities a thousand kilometers from the front, to which absolutely non-star and unknown artists are involved, differing only in that there are special agreements with them. These so-called patriotic artists from the “tame” category perform at concerts, receive insane fees and deduct … Isn’t this what such events are held for? – wrote Kiselyov, calling “stars” those who “for state money are” patriots “. At the same time, Kiselev drew attention to the forced situation with Alla Pugacheva, who had to speak out after the events around her husband – they say, such polarization is not for the benefit of society. It is noteworthy that one of those who was especially sharply criticized by Kiselyov was just Yaroslav Dronov. Probably, the cry of the soul was heard: in mid-January, the young singer arrived in the Donbass and gave charity concerts – however, not at the front line, but in Lugansk and Mariupol.
The soul of the frantic Zakhar Prilepin also hurts. Soon a year later, he keeps repeating: the state needs to be more attentive to the formation of its cultural policy, which should create the necessary ideology. “Not only is there no Donbas cinema, it is not even in the project, despite two convincing requests from the President of the Russian Federation. And there is nothing in the theater either. Why do we have no one out of 100 top film directors who has her (patriotic position)? If we have such a society, one can only be surprised that we have an army at all. Not that she is fighting, but that she exists at all, ”Prilepin laments, grieving that individual artists and directors support the NWO only with words, and not with deeds. Accordingly, the way out of the situation is that the state should begin to support and finance truly patriotic masters of the pen and the stage.
Apparently, there is some truth in this position. Take the same Philip Kirkorov. At first, the “king of the Russian stage” defiantly refused to say anything about current events, but then (as many believed, not without external reasons) he held a concert in the Crimea for wounded servicemen, calling them “our heroes”, after which he again went into the shadows. Or take Kirkorov’s girlfriend Taisiya Povaliy. The Ukrainian star has repeatedly stated that “she is with Russia in her soul”, and during the last “Blue Light” she demonstratively performed “Chervona Ruta” on the move. So decide whether the singer really loves the Russian Federation so much, or the whole reason is that her husband, Ukrainian oligarch Igor Likhuta, is rumored to have financed Viktor Yanukovych for many years. “After the victory of Viktor Yanukovych in the presidential elections in Ukraine, the life of the singer Taisiya Povaliy improved. Having occupied the political Olympus, Yanukovych is preparing a warm place for a faithful girlfriend, ”wrote Express Gazeta. Soon Povaliy began to sound in Ukraine from all irons and received a mandate as a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada. Today it is under the sanctions of Kyiv. So who should she support?
Meanwhile
Back in the summer of last year, RBC announced the presence of a black list of artists whose performances are under an unspoken ban. If you believe him, Yuri Shevchuk, Zemfira, Valery Meladze, Monetochka – Elizaveta Gyrdymova * (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation), Vasya Oblomov (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation), as well as the groups “Time Machine”, “Aquarium”, “Bi-2”, “Accident”, etc. Apparently, since then the list could have increased, since every now and then the artists make ambiguous statements. So, in mid-January, comedian Sergei Slepakov sang a song in which they saw criticism of the participants in the SVO. RBC also announced the presence of a “white” list of artists with whom it is recommended to cooperate. Among them are City 312, Polina Gagarina, Nikolai Rastorguev, Alexander F. Sklyar, Garik Sukachev, Vadim Samoilov, Svetlana Surganova, Yulia Chicherina, Uma2rmaH and others.
