No one is spared in the race. This appears to have been the Kremlin’s mantra for many years, but mostly since the annexation of Ukrainian Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and beyond. And when the Russian government says “no one”, that’s what they mean.

To support the war, those who have the ability to penetrate a wide audience were “recruited”: journalists, singers, actors, visual artists – especially those who are part of Russian pop culture, which means that their followers span a wide age and social spectra.

Like the 44 year old singer Julia Chicherina. The popular Russian pop star not only sang at the recent celebration in Moscow of nine years since the annexation of Crimea, but also often rushes to the front lines to cheer on Russian fighters. He sings patriotic songs in the trenchestrying to invigorate soldiers on the frozen fronts of the war – even in shelters, with her guitar, she fuels the morale of the attackers with notes and lyrics saying that “we are here to stay.”

Chicherina was a member of an indie band in the early 2000s, but, according to The Telegraph, disappeared from the scene for several years. Until 2014, with the annexation of Crimea and riots with pro-Russian separatists in the Ukrainian Donbas, when Yulia Chicherina was back in the spotlight as the Kremlin’s main propaganda voice.

And she is just one of the artists belonging to the so-called “culture Z”, from a letter accompanying Russian troops during the invasion of Ukraine. OUR Ivan Kodakov he also belongs to the choir of pro-Putin artists who support the Kremlin’s decisions. Kodakov, who insists he’s not funded by the Kremlin, describes himself as a poet, singer and comedian whose views never elude Western values ​​- “they’re satanic,” he told The Telegraph – but neither does the LGBTQI+ community.

“I don’t understand how people can want to be tolerant,” he told a British newspaper, citing a sarcastic poem he wrote about gays and transgender people. “There are many words in the English language that define gender. Now everyone needs their own toilet. In Russia there is a simple word: “advertising”.

And he may not, he says, be funded by the Kremlin, but he has “free access” to the state media, where he can appear as he pleases. In addition, he claims that the money he needs to perform is funded by his fans.

71 year old singer Oleg GasmanovHowever, he is sponsored by the Kremlin, as he participates in tours organized by Putin’s “central” presidency. And, of course, he was “in first place” at the recent anniversary concert of the President of Russia in Moscow.

Gasmanov has a glorious Soviet past, as evidenced by his nationalist songs, which idolize the communist past of today’s Russia, which he considers to be one and the same country with Ukraine, Moldova and the Baltic states. He has participated in the same number of concerts since February 24, 2022 and there, while in the past, as a gymnast, he distinguished himself with his acrobatic dance moves.

OUR Denis maidanov he is still an ally of Putin. Singer, lyricist, actor, multiple laureate, State Duma deputy from United Russia under the President of Russia, Maidanov considers Vladimir Putin a dynamic person and leader, putting him in the same pantheon with Peter the Great. He has participated in many concerts since 2014, following the policy of the President of Russia and the vision of Great Russia.

Indeed, on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Maidanov publicly stated that “at present it is impossible to be a pacifist and a patriot at the same time.” And he, in his own words, which he gave to the Russian media, over the years gave many concerts in the Donbass. And he went even further: he demanded to block all social networks in Russia, because, according to him, they distort the truth about the “special operation” in Ukraine, which is not aimed at anything else, spreading lies – in his own words – from the demilitarization and denazification of the country .

Favorite of the Russians Vika Tsyganova he also goes to the trenches of the war in Ukraine and sings for Russian soldiers at the front. “Once I sang in Donetsk, I was in the front row. People there are very tired, eight years in a row it is very hard to live like this, unbearable. In Donetsk, I saw wounded children from Mariupol – my heart breaks. Vadim and I (including her husband and producer) try our best to help, we work a lot in hospitals. I sing, I bring the equipment, I negotiate with the authorities. I don’t take money, I do it for charity. And then everything makes sense. And ordinary concerts are no longer interesting to me, ”he said in the Russian media.

And she herself argued with those artists who left the great Russian homeland at such a critical moment in history, as well as with those who support minorities, such as the LGBTI + community, or participate in Eurovision, where “men kiss men.” Vika Tsyganova’s ball also receives, however, those of her colleagues who line up for official meals in the Kremlin. “I have other values, I am Orthodox. And this has nothing to do with the fact that we have to walk around in headscarves and long skirts. No, this is a conversation about consciousness and about the soul.

Rocker belongs to the same group of artists echoing the central line of Putin’s Kremlin Sergei Galanin. From the very beginning, back in the late 90s and early 2000s, he supported the Russian right, while expressing a desire, among other things, to sing in support of Russian soldiers fighting ISIS in Syria. He has criticized Pussy Riots and openly supported Putin’s policies from the start. He stated that he was disappointed that he could not sing in the Ukrainian outback, but noted that there was enough Crimea for now to perform with his group – one of the many that he changed – songs related to Great Russia.

And the chorus doesn’t stop there. St.members of a large group of those who do their best to spread the views of the Kremlin down to the last citizen within the Russian Federation also belong to: Nikolay Baskovpop tenor; O Dima Bilanwith pop and R’n’B discography; h Nadezhda Babkinapop-folk performer, member of Putin’s “United Russia”, laureate Irina Allegrova· IN Dmitry Dyuzefactor and singer and Mikhail Galustyanhumorist, screenwriter and presenter.

The case of Nikita Mikhalkov

However, the one who has attracted the most attention—perhaps rightly because of his importance and his reputation—is the director. Nikita Mikhalkov. Actor, director, president of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, repeatedly awarded and awarded with state awards of Russia.

Nikita Mikhalkov, the creator and protagonist of The False Sun, has behind him the Golden Lion of the Venice Film Festival, the Oscar in the category “Best Foreign Language Film” and the Grand Prix of the Cannes Film Festival, as well as his official and repeated recognition within Russia.

He several times supported Vladimir Putin and everything related to Great Russia, conceived by the Russian president. He created videos for the 55th anniversary of Putin, in 2007 signed an appeal not to excommunicate the Russian leader from politics, recognized and trumpeted the legitimacy of the “Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics.”

For many years he led the Union of Russian Cinematographers, he was accused of authoritarian leadership in the Union, which led to the fact that many of his colleagues left him and created a “rival” cinematographic union.

And the list doesn’t end there. If you look at the lists of Western sanctions against Russian citizens, it becomes clear that countless artists are involved in the struggle to spread information filtered by the Kremlin.

And etc…

However, there are those who have either decided to remain silent – despite … exhortations from the authorities to speak out for a war in Ukraine – or gathered what they could and left the country in search of a haven of freedom around the world.

Those who resisted have already fallen into political and artistic disgrace, faced with the principles and laws occasionally adopted by the Russian state in the midst of war, prohibiting public condemnation of the invasion – prohibiting even the use of the word “war” instead. official name “Special Military Operation”.

Others saw that their theater had become a recruiting center and were forced to form artistic squads to support the Russian fighters at the front. They saw how their colleagues were dragged into the war without their consent. They saw others begging for release and getting the answer, “What release? If you get paper, you are gone. Everyone must come.”

There are others whose traces have been lost. As an artist of the Siberian theater, who, as soon as the summons came, suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth. His colleagues, according to the Financial Times, say he disappeared into the woods to escape. He wasn’t one of the lucky ones – or was he?