It’s too early to say what the Russian people make of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but he’s already lost a few celebrities. Most of these guys rely heavily on the state for their living.
A short thread.
Ivan Urgant, Russia’s equivalent of Steven Colbert (who was once on his show): “Fear and pain. NO to war.”
Maxim Galkin, singer and husband of Alla Pugacheva, Russia’s biggest celebrity:
“I’ve been talking to friends and relatives from Ukraine since early morning! I can’t find the words to say what I feel! How can this be possible! There can be no justification for war! No to war!”
Pop star Svetlana Loboda: “My heart is broken. I’ve been in touch with my loved ones since 5am. How is this possible? Lord, stop all this! I’m just crying.”
Figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva: “I hope this all ends as soon as possible, like a bad dream.”
Pop star Valery Meladze: “Today something happened that could and should never have happened. History will judge everything one day. Now I want to beg you to stop military action and sit down to negotiate.”
None of them are protesting or mentioning Putin by name. But even stuff like this can get you banned from state TV for life.
This was compiled on the excellent @bbcrussian live blog by the brilliant @lizafokht, who you should all be following (and not just because we’re married) bbc.com/russian/live/n…
@bbcrussian@lizafokht A case in point on the risks of speaking out against the war in Russia, especially if you work in the almost wholly state-run culture industry
It’s time for the annual Putin presser and phone-in, combined into one – the first time he’s done it since the invasion of Ukraine.
Pavel Zarubin is showing off a huge pile of questions supposedly sent in by ordinary Russians. Expect this to be even more stage-managed than usual
Zarubin, the Swiftie-esque Putin fanboy who is moderating this, says some questions have been resolved already. "In the morning I complained I hadn't been paid my salary, and by the evening I got it!", one ordinary Russian supposedly said.
Putin says Russia has "strengthened its sovereignty," and seen off a sanctions onslaught from the west. Putin credits the "high consolidation of Russian society" and "stability of the financial-economic system."
As their yacht bobbed on the Mediterranean, the microchip executive snapped a picture of his Russian partner asleep on the deck.
He only knew the Russian by his first name, Maxim. But he knew Maxim was using a shadowy network to get the chips for the Russian defense industry.
Marc Rocchi’s qcompany Ommic desperately needed Maxim’s business to stay afloat. A few months earlier Rocchi had flown to Greece to hand-deliver Maxim 230 microchips — €45,000 worth. Maxim had, at one point, offered Rocchi “cash and women” for more, though he declined.
Rocchi knew his ultimate customer was NPP Istok, which makes electronic warfare systems for the Russian military. Specialist microchips like Ommic’s high-performance gallium nitride and gallium arsenide-integrated circuit boards are vital to defense manufacturers like Istok.
Insane footage on Russian social media from Makhachkala in the North Caucasus region, where there have been several anti-Semitic protests this weekend.
A crowd of people, some with Palestinian flags, broke into the airport in search of passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv.
Remarkable to see security forces in Russia standing by for so long. By now, according to Baza, police in Makhachkala have chased them off the runway and outside the airport, where they are now protesting. The airport is closed t.me/bazabazon/22573
🚨 Belarus says it has convinced Prigozhin to stand down his armed uprising.
Lukashenko spent "the entire day" negotiating with Prigozhin after "agreeing on joint actions" with Putin and "additionally clarifying the situation through his own channels."
For more on Prigozhin, may I humbly directly you to a few pieces, such as:
This story with @ChristopherJM @SameralAtrush and @felschwartz about how Prigozhin cobbled together a coalition against Russia's army, but then saw his star begin to wane
@ChristopherJM @SameralAtrush @felschwartz Prigozhin's revolt also speaks to much broader problems at the heart of Putin's vision for Russia and plan to invade Ukraine, which @ChristopherJM, @felschwartz and I detailed here: