Government wearies of battles around Russian artists’ gigs

10.10.2023, 20:41 exclusive.kz

For many Kazakhs, protesting and forcing cancellations of concerts by Russian pro-war artists, as well as supporting shows by anti-war artists, has become a way of showing opposition to Russia’s war on Ukraine. Until now, the government appeared to be going along with the public sentiment. It has now signalled a desire to curb public passions around tours by Russian artists. This follows the recent controversy around the planned concerts in the country by Russian anti-war comedian Maksim Galkin. Galkin’s shows were scheduled to be held in Astana and Almaty on 8 and 9 October, respectively. In late September, both venues announced they were not able to host the actor for technical reasons. Galkin has been outspoken in his criticism of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. President Putin has long been a target of Galkin’s satire. The Russian government has declared him ‘a foreign agent’. He is married to the biggest Soviet pop diva Alla Pugacheva — they are Russia’s top celebrity couple. Pugacheva too has spoken out against the war, after which, she said, the Kremlin forced her to leave Russia. The couple currently live in Israel. The Kazakh Foreign Ministry has denied any Russian pressure over the cancellation of Galkin’s concerts. Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kazakh public pressure has forced cancellations of several Russian pro-Kremlin artists’ shows in Kazakhstan. Among those cancelled were singers Polina Gagarina, Larisa Dolina, Turetsky Choir Art Group and others – all have publicly supported the war on Ukraine, and performed at various “patriotic” events. Reacting to the cancellation of singer Grigoriy Leps’ show in Kazakhstan in July, his representative Vladimir Uryupin accused Kazakhstan of becoming “quite Russophobic”, and Kazakhs of “going mad”, “like in the USA”. “Never mind, we can manage without Kazakhstan. We are going to continue to support our country and do everything to make sure that victory is ours,” he said. The anti-war Russian artists who did perform in Kazakhstan over the past year include the St Petersburg rock legend Yuriy Shevchuk, and singers Manizha, Arbenina and Zemfira. The Russian rock band B-2, which is staunchly against the war and is declared ‘a foreign agent’ in Russia, played a charity concert in the eastern city of Semey on 21 June in aid of victims of the summer forest fires in the region. Although the local authorities attempted to cancel the gig under various pretexts, it went ahead after public pressure. In July 2022 Kazakh and Ukrainian artists performed together in a special Voice of Peace concert in Almaty. In August, Russia’s consul-general in Kazakhstan Yevgeniy Bobrov said that “the situation in Ukraine has marred cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan”. “Russian artists’ concerts are getting cancelled at the behest of Western-funded NGOs, and some events and projects are getting banned,” he said. In September Information Minister Aida Balayeva said that the government from now on intended to prevent the politicization of culture. “We are going to set strict requirements regarding content. We will ban concerts if they involve political propaganda or attempts to divide the public. Concerts must not promote politics, but art,” she said. Following the cancellation of Galkin’s concerts, Minister Balayeva denied any political motivations behind it. “I cannot see any hidden motives. There is nothing to talk about here.” Asked by journalists if artists who support the war against Ukraine should be allowed to perform in Kazakhstan, she said: “Artists should come to show their art, without interfering in politics”. “It is not a question of who supports and who does not support [the war]. What is important is that artists should understand their role and mission, and do not mix art with politics,” Balayeva said. By Maksim Yelizarov