In Russia, a striking voice has spoken out against the war in Ukraine. Alla Pugacheva, the country’s most famous singer, has strongly condemned the war on Instagram. “Our boys die for imaginary purposes,” she says.
“Precisely because of the status of Pugacheva, who is almost untouchable in Russia, those words will certainly arrive,” says Jan Balliauw, Russia expert.
In her Instagram post, Alla Pugacheva addresses the Russian government. She asks to be blacklisted from so-called “foreign agents”, just like her husband. The term “foreign agent” is a negative, charged label that the Russian government uses to name people it considers a traitor.
Pugacheva’s husband, a well-known comedian and TV host, were on the list Friday for repeatedly speaking out against the war in Ukraine. Pugacheva had not done that until now, but she defends her husband in strikingly critical terms in her Instagram post.
“I am in solidarity with my husband, a righteous, decent and honest man, a true and unforgettable patriot of Russia, who wishes his homeland prosperity, peace, freedom of speech and wishes that our boys no longer die for imaginary purposes that belong to our country make a pariah and complicate the lives of our citizens.”
Unlike her husband, Pugacheva had so far refrained from commenting on the war in Ukraine. Yet, precisely this turnaround gives more weight to her words.
“Precisely because of the status of Pugacheva, who is almost untouchable in Russia, those words will certainly arrive,” says Jan Balliauw, Russia expert at the VRT. “If people like Pugacheva now also say that they are questioning what is happening in Ukraine, then surely that means that there are cracks in that front, and perhaps more Russians – who are very concerned about the situation, as it turns out from polls – going to find that something is wrong in Ukraine.”