69-year-old musician and founder of the Aquarium group Boris Grebenshchikov (known as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation) said in an interview with the Financial Times that he does not think it is possible to return to Russia from England. has been alive for the last year and a half. “This can be a little dangerous,” says Grebenshchikov.
“Right now, the country I was born and love is in a very sad, tragic situation. Millions and millions of people are afraid to think, to speak openly. We all know that silence is like cancer. <…> “I’m thinking about how I can help not only the Ukrainians but also the Russians because they are in a very bad situation.” stated Grebenshchikov.
He also had to give up performing in Ukraine.
“The reactions to our group in Ukraine were at times (SVO. – before socialbites.ca) much warmer and more loving than in Russia… [Сейчас] Half of Ukrainians think: “Oh, a good Russian is a dead Russian.” “I get a lot of letters like this,” said the musician.
Now Grebenshchikov and his wife live in London. The musician said that he left the Aquarium group he founded because some of its members supported Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. The musician now performs under the pseudonym BG+.
How did a musician become a foreign agent?
Grebenshchikov at the end of June was listed foreign agents. The Ministry of Justice reported that the musician “conducted concert activities in foreign countries with the aim of providing financial aid to Ukraine, opposed the special military operation in Ukraine and received support from foreign sources.”
“Oh, I’m always on the list! — Commented on his foreign agent status in an interview with the FT. — I was on the banned persons list in the 70s. I was there in the 80’s. Everything is fine”.
Speaking to Israel’s Channel Nine in the summer of 2022, Grebenshchikov talked about his performance at the Voice of Peace festival in Berlin, which was attended by dozens of artists. Proceeds were used to aid Ukraine.
“I played at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the event raised at least 12 million euros. This amount also went to help Ukraine,” he confirmed.
At the same time, Grebenshchikov told RBC that he personally did not transfer any money to Ukraine: “I have never had such an amount, and therefore I could not donate it.”
15 June Moscow Tverskoy District Court fine 50 thousand rubles to the founder of the Aquarium in case he discredits the Russian Army. The protocol was drawn up because the musician described Russia’s actions in Ukraine as fascism in an interview with Channel Nine.
State Duma deputy Sultan Khamzaev addressed the RF IC with a request to check Grebenshchikov’s statements.
“These are not isolated statements by plague actors. This is an ideological war aimed at shaping defeatist public opinion. “Western sleeper cells focused on spreading fake news, imposing false truths, and demonstrating their loyalty to the West.” aforementioned Khamzaev RIA Novosti.
At the very beginning of the SVO, Grebenshchikov called what was happening “a real madness.”