Music producer Iosif Prigozhin on the The Eastern Herald program “Hold on!” urged not to “beat with sticks” and not to withdraw awards and titles from stars who left the country after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine. He also has said about the cancellation of Ivan Urgant’s concerts, his attitude towards Alla Pugacheva, and why he respects Stanislav Vakarchuk, the soloist of the Ukrainian group Okean Elzy.
Many stars who left the country after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine previously supported the current government, but today they have changed their minds, the producer said. However, this does not mean that all should be deprived of titles and awards, he believes.
“Priorities change, tastes change, circumstances change, but still, you can’t take it in one day and say, ‘Guys, we’re going to take your titles, we’re going to take this. During their existence, they have earned all these titles. Another thing is that today their rhetoric has changed, their views have changed. Our paths have diverged, but that’s no reason to beat these people with a stick. They do not want to stay and be in the situation in which the country and the citizens find themselves. It is their right. And no one has taken away this right from them, everything is enshrined in the constitution. I don’t like chauvinism. They left and thanked God. Why do you still remember them? Why do you always focus on these people? It is impossible to disempower, including the authorities, because the authorities, in my opinion, have not improved in terms of communication with cultural figures. Why is it all the fault of the artists? Why do you always make them extreme? said Prigogine.
For example, the producer called the situation with the cancellation of the concerts of TV presenter Ivan Urgant “a scandalous story”. Vanya didn’t say anything. And this is a defect of people who are engaged in domestic politics. They had to talk to everyone. All of us, representatives of art, music, cinema, theaters, should not understand politics. By the way, for all these years we have been weaned from politics. They said, “Don’t get involved in politics, mind your own business.” Everyone was minding their own business. Everyone had a chain reaction – hanging black pictures (on social media – editor’s note The Eastern Herald), because everyone was screwed, everyone was in shock,” he said.
Irina Bujor / Kommersant
At the same time, Prigozhin considers it possible to cancel the concerts of artists who actively criticize foreign authorities, as they “allude to circumstances that have not been proven.” According to him, many of these stars are “hypocrites” who cannot be trusted.
“If someone spits in your bowl of soup, are you going to eat that soup? Why did you spit on your plate? Go somewhere else and eat your soup. These people have made statements that are too painful, in my opinion. They seem to allude directly to those circumstances in which they have yet to be proven, to those circumstances which have not been proven…I do not believe that any of those who have gone, have made a statement, those who are here, make statements. Because I don’t believe in either. I only believe what I see. I understand for sure that many of those who left are hypocrites,” the producer said.
In particular, Prigogine considers Alla Pugacheva’s behavior to be such. According to him, “it is possible and even necessary to slam the door for the good of a husband”, “but to cross the border and declare slaves” of the people she once considered her friends and her public – “it is incorrect.”
Sergei Karpukhin / TASS
“We weren’t spoiled like that, including the power and opportunities that Alla Borisovna used. She has even more authority, more influence and more opportunities. And objectively speaking, she was in a good way, as I see it, a dictator in show business. And it could influence what to be and who not to be, who is a competitor, who is not a competitor. Therefore, should she make comments to other leaders when she herself, one might say, was single-handedly an influential person with great opportunities. And she knows it,” Prigozhin added.
According to him, in this context, the position of the soloist of the Ukrainian group Okean Elzy, Stanislav Vakarchuk, who “did not come to Russia for money, sang in his native Ukrainian language” and is “consistent in his actions and its repertoire”, is respected.
“And I understand that he is integrated in his country. I respect him for that, even if our political views don’t agree,” Prigogine concluded.
At the beginning of January 2023, the authorities of Kuzbass decided to deprive TV presenter and comedian Maxim Galkin* of regional awards. At the same time, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin offered to confiscate the property of Russians who went abroad and criticized Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
*recognized as a foreign agent in Russia
