- Iconic Russian singer Alla Pugacheva has condemned the war in Ukraine.
- The recipient of countless state awards, Pugacheva said the war’s goals were “illusory.”
- She asked to be designated a “foreign agent,” like her husband, a comedian who has also spoken out.
An iconic Russian singer has condemned her country’s invasion of Ukraine, saying it is turning Russia into a “pariah.”
Alla Pugacheva addressed the Russian Ministry of Justice in an Instagram post asking to be branded a foreign agent, “in solidarity” with her husband, who has also criticized the war.
Pugacheva has megastar status in Russia and former Soviet states, having sold an estimated 250 million records and received countless state awards.
The New York Times has called her “the goddess of Russian pop, Moscow’s Tina Turner with a hint of Edith Piaf.”
Photo by Willy Spiller/RDB/ullstein bild via Getty Images
She and her husband, comedian Maxim Galkin, fled to Israel soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, according to Haaretz.
From there, Galkin has accused the Russian authorities of lying about war crimes in Ukraine, condemning the alleged war crimes in Bucha and the destruction of Mariupol, as Haaretz reported.
Galkin was named a foreign agent under Russian law on Friday, according to independent Russian news site Meduza.
On Sunday, Pugacheva wrote: “I am in solidarity with my husband, an honest, decent and sincere person.”
She noted Galkin’s wish for “an end to the death of our children for illusory goals that make Russia a pariah country and burdening the lives of our citizens.”
Pugacheva has spoken out before. In 2014, she signed a petition supporting Russian musician Andrei Makarevich, who criticized Russia’s invasion of Crimea and Russian activities in the Donbas region of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian newspaper Pravda.
In August, Pugacheva said she was returning to Russia from Israel with the promise she will “put things in order,” as state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported.
She was in Moscow as of Saturday, the outlet reported, citing a social media post that included an image of her.
Russia’s “foreign agent” law was introduced in 2012. It was ostensibly to compel people and organizations to declare support they receive from outside Russia but has been used to clamp down on critics of the Kremlin.
FKB, the anti-corruption organization led by opposition politician Alexei Navalny, was also labeled a foreign agent, before eventually being designated an extremist group in 2021, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported.
In July, the law’s wording was broadened to cover anyone deemed to be under “foreign influence,” The Moscow Times reported.
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