Two and a half centuries after the Cossack and peasant revolt of Emelian Pugachev, here is the Instagram post of Alla Pugacheva. Sunday, September 18, the singer posted on the social network (banned in Russia for “extremism”) a message ” for peace “ and “so that our guys stop dying in the name of illusory goals that have turned our country into a pariah and made life impossible for our fellow citizens”.
Alla Pougatcheva, 73, is not the first Russian personality to express her opposition to the “special military operation” in Ukraine. But none had the stature of the diva, undisputed queen of pop and variety for decades, icon of the Soviet Union as of Russia. A joke sums up its longevity and importance, which reminds us that “Leonid Brezhnev was a small politician from the time of Alla Pugacheva”.
Huge impact
If some, among the liberals, reproached the singer for forgetting in her message the Ukrainian sufferings, this one, short and limpid, had an immense impact, well beyond the 3.5 million subscribers to her Instagram account. Hundreds of thousands of anonymous people reposted it on various social networks, while others contented themselves with a simple “Bravo, Alla Borissovna”, more cautious but just as clear.
His exit will certainly not cause a political earthquake in Russia (or a ” million rose revolution “, as some Internet users joked in reference to one of his most famous songs), but it will at least spark discussions in millions of homes. For political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky, this simple message even transforms the singer “de facto leader of the Russian anti-war movement”.
The embarrassment for the Kremlin is that the Russians who adore Alla Pugacheva are the same ones who form the heart of Vladimir Putin’s support for power.
The embarrassment for the Kremlin is that the Russians who adore Alla Pugacheva are the same ones who form the heart of Vladimir Putin’s support for power. Her message is all the stronger since the diva had never expressed strong political positions and had never fallen out with any power since the start of her career in 1965. She had only greeted, after the death of Mikhail Gorbachev in the month of August, “a time during which we tasted freedom”.
“Foreign agent”
Under these conditions, it will be difficult for the Kremlin to make her a “traitor”., an opportunist sold to the West, or to sue her. In the same way, making it disappear from the screens and banning its concerts – a fate reserved for artists who have publicly expressed their opposition to the conflict – will be delicate.
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