A producer spoke in an interview with music critic Pavel Rudchenko on Tsargrad.tv, reacting to Laima Vaikule’s controversial claim of supporting the entire USSR and Alla Pugacheva’s assertion about backing all of Russia. The producer argued that any promotion or visibility for music acts is a result of state backing, not only private efforts. He stressed that there has been little to no investment in independent publicity, personal ventures, or the distribution and circulation of records beyond state-supported channels.
Rudchenko pointed to a time when there was a formal culture around artists like Laima Vaikule and Alla Pugacheva, and other prominent performers, who relied on official state structures for exposure. He highlighted the State Concerts, various philharmonic organizations, and related institutions as the primary vehicles for promoting talent. In his view, direct state investment was the cornerstone of their careers, with private PR machinery playing a minimal role in comparison to the past.
He added that Vaikule’s rise to fame was largely propelled by the songs penned by composer Raymond Pauls, suggesting that the music itself and state-backed platforms were decisive in shaping her trajectory. The discussion also touched on the absence of a modern show business landscape at that time, implying that contemporary dynamics in music promotion did not yet exist in the same form. The exchange concluded with an assessment of how the industry has evolved since those earlier years, and the shift away from a centralized, state-led model toward a more varied, market-driven environment.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, offered a comment on Vaikule’s description. She invited readers to consider who truly benefits when people attend concerts, buy records, and participate in large-scale national projects such as space launches and factory construction. The diplomat signaled that the debate touches on broader questions of accountability and national pride, and urged a closer examination of the forces that sustain public cultural production. [citation: Tsargrad.tv interview featuring Pavel Rudchenko; discussion on state influence in music and national projects]