Was it a single loud slap across the Kremlin’s backdrop? Perhaps the only person in Russia who could afford such a defiance movement without risking bodily harm spoke through a public message. Alla Pugacheva, a seventy year old singer familiar to generations of Russians and former Soviet citizens, joined a public lawsuit with the Ministry of Justice to challenge Russia’s inclusion in the list of foreign agents. This legal category has long been used to label voices as enemies of the people in Soviet times. The act served as a gesture of solidarity with her comedian husband Maxim Galkin who has openly criticized Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. His name has repeatedly appeared on the infamous list meant to silence dissent during the current Kremlin leadership’s term. The aim was to curb critical voices.
The message carried a tone of unusual firmness toward the Russian authorities and toward the war with a neighboring country. Russian media limited itself to publishing only fragments, avoiding a full reproduction of the entire message. To the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, Pugachova wrote that she wished to be listed among the foreign agents and stood with her husband, who desires his homeland to grow, live freely, and stop the deaths of children in the name of peace, press freedom, and other aims. Three weeks later, she announced she had left Russia and settled in Israel with her husband.
Observers note that Pugacheva has outlived many leaders since the end of the Soviet era. Leonid Brezhnev’s era is described as a reference point. Some see Putin as a tsar-like figure, and Pugacheva as a symbolic empress in the public imagination. Dmitry Peskov, the presidential spokesman, interacted briefly with the artist, and a sign of respect was shown when Peskov kissed her hand at one point. The public encounter reflected a moment of nuance in an otherwise tense relationship with the Kremlin.
A wave of separation
Pugacheva is not alone in this shift. A chorus of pop, rock, and rap performers, whose work holds political weight in Russia, has left the country following the invasion. They have organized concerts abroad for millions of Russian and former Soviet fans who fled the conflict. These events are often charitable as well, with artists lending their names and performances to aid Ukrainian refugees.
Interpreting this exodus as a blow to the regime, observers note that the cultural establishment continues to sustain a sense of legitimacy through art. The sentiment touches actors and writers as well. Many hope the concert movement abroad will recruit other voices to become pioneers of freedom for Russia, even as earlier positions reveal the challenges of exile. The exit of Zemfira Ramazanova, a well known rock artist, leaves a notable gap in the country’s cultural landscape. She later settled in Paris with her partner Renata Litvinova and began producing songs that critique the war from abroad.
Lyrics from a recent song capture the mood: Do not shoot I am a quiet whisper before the end. The song urges Russian citizens to take to the streets to protest the occupation. Such stances are viewed by authorities as treason, and Zemfira was added to the foreign agents list in February. The Ministry of Justice accused the artist of openly supporting Ukraine and performing in countries that Russia deems unfriendly.
Zemfira’s pacifism, rooted in the artists’ homeland of St. Petersburg, evolved into a provocative challenge to the occupation. With the war underway, a group known for Eurovision 2020, which did not take place due to the pandemic, relocated to Los Angeles and released a new track. A video titled Generation Cancellation includes provocative imagery aimed at challenging state television narratives. The group’s leader once stated that they felt compelled to speak out now because silence felt unbearable and pain demanded expression. The article notes that this stance is seen by many in Russia as a countercultural act.
Before the war, the Russian music scene often clashed with state norms, prompting cultural authorities to craft responses through selective engagement and offers. Concerts inside Russia sometimes turned into protest actions against the Kremlin and its policies. The response from the music community illustrates a broader tension between cultural expression and political authority.
Rapper Oxxxymiron, one of the most prominent figures in modern Russian music, joined the chorus of critical voices. He has argued that the war is not a peace operation but a real military conflict that affects lives and futures. His public statements, and his status as a foreign agent, have led to fines, underscoring the high costs of dissent for Russian artists speaking out about Ukraine. The debate reflects the range of perspectives among Russian citizens as the conflict unfolds.