The artistic scene in Russia is fractured because of the conflict with Ukraine.
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| Image Source - Google | Image by <br><a href= BBC News |
By Mehran Mazari
Government support has been given to those who favor it, while those who reject it are under intense pressure to conform.
In Russia, speaking your mind comes with a cost. You risk being assassinated, imprisoned, or driven into exile. If you're a person of culture, you also risk being shut out of influential platforms and settings.
One of the most well-known entertainers to lose respect in Russia under Vladimir Putin is Andrei Makarevich for opposing the country's policies.
He became well-known in the Soviet era as the lead singer of the rock band Mashina Vremeni (Time Machine). He was once referred to as "a Beatle of Perestroika" on state television, a reference to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's extensive reform agenda.
Makarevich, however, became more and more critical of Vladimir Putin over time. Makarevich composed the song "My Country Has Gone Mad" after Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and participated in anti-war demonstrations. Following this, a number of his shows across Russia were postponed, and Makarevich charged that the Kremlin was behind the persecutory effort.
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Makarevich departed Russia in February 2022 with a great deal of disillusionment once the full-scale conflict began. "It has turned out that manipulating people is considerably simpler. More belligerent and uninformed," he claimed in an interview.
On the other hand, Nikolai Rastorguyev is an illustration of a performer who is favored by the government. Lyube, which is frequently referred to as "Putin's favorite band," features him as the lead singer. He actively backs the "special military operation" in Ukraine and other Kremlin programs.
Rastorguyev, in contrast to Makarevich, seems to have long had easy access to the top venues in Russia.
On March 15, 2014, Lyube celebrated its 25th anniversary at the city's Olympic Stadium, the same day Makarevich came dangerously close to being attacked by anti-Ukraine protesters after a peace march in Moscow.
The following day, his band gave a concert in Crimea in support of a vote that was utilized by the Kremlin to legitimize the annexation of the Ukrainian area despite having no international legitimacy.
President Putin has attended major demonstrations that were sponsored by the Kremlin and held at Russia's largest stadium, Luzhniki. Rastorguyev and his band have performed at these events. It also wrote a song honoring the bridge that connects Russia and the annexation of Crimea.
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Police seeking political subversives have even made customers at a Moscow pub sing a Lyube song as identification that they support the government, evidence of the band's impact.
EU sanctions are in place on Nikolai Rastorguyev due to their participation in "the Kremlin's disinformation and information manipulation ecosystem".
Many artists who are critical of the Russian government, like Makarevich, have been branded "foreign agents" in Russia.
Film and theatre
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Vladimir Putin enjoys the fervent backing of Mikhalkov.
He co-wrote an open letter in 2007 urging the Russian president to run for a third term in defiance of the constitution. The same year, Mikhalkov produced a movie honoring Putin's 55th birthday, which state TV aired on the occasion.
The director of the movie has served as the chairman of Russia's Union of Film Makers since 1997, and he has earned various accolades and financial support from the government, including the Defence Ministry's award for "developing the Fatherland's Culture and Art" and $2 million in state funding for a Burnt By The Sun sequel.
He has backed Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and repeated the president's claims that Ukraine is governed by a "Nazi regime" and that even the Ukrainian language is an expression of anti-Russian sentiment.
At a ceremony in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin bestowed the title of "Hero of Labour" to Mikhalkov months after the invasion began. In his thank-you speech to the president, the filmmaker mentioned the battle in Ukraine and claimed that it was causing "a new Russia" to be created.
Mikhalkov has received a warning from the EU for his part in disseminating "Kremlin propaganda narratives".
Liya Akhedzhakova, an actress, has a career that has taken a different path and holds quite diverse political views. In the 1970s, she became well-known for her parts in highly successful Soviet films including The Irony of Fate and Office Romance as well as for her frequent performances at Sovremennik, one of Moscow's top theatres.
The little actress has never been afraid to express her political opinions in public and has frequently been quite critical of governmental actions since the dissolution of the USSR.
She praised the so-called Euromaidan protests in Kyiv, which resulted in the overthrow of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine, at a rally in Moscow in 2014.
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Akhedzhakova asked the gathering to remember the pro-democracy protesters killed in the Ukrainian capital, to cheers and screams of sympathy.
Rallies like this were unthinkable in Russia by the time President Putin commenced a full-scale invasion of Ukraine eight years later. Speaking to independent Dozhd TV on the day of the invasion, Akhedzhakova urged other entertainers and famous people to reject it.
"I'm appealing to all members of the culture; now is the moment to speak up. We must speak up. We won't have another opportunity. There are so many lies, an entire sea of lies, and there is a war going on, she claimed.
A little more than a week later, Dozhd was compelled to transfer outside of the country because of tighter restrictions and worries for the welfare of its employees.
After 45 years of service to the theatre, Akhedzhakova lost her final role there a year later. The actress claims that the newly appointed director of the theatre informed her that she had received "inundated" with letters denouncing her, a practice reminiscent of Soviet-era state-sponsored persecution campaigns.
A pro-government activist recently requested that prosecutors investigate if the actress was guilty of treason, which is another echo of Stalinism.
