Maxim Galkin is one of the most popular faces of Russian show business. In Russia he is as popular as Günther Jauch and Hape Kerkeling together. But his case now shows that the Kremlin can knock anyone off Olympus.
Comedian, presenter and gifted parodist – Maxim Galkin has many talents. His popularity and marriage to the Russian idol Alla Pugacheva, which can almost be counted as part of the national cultural heritage, has long given it a status of inviolability. For many years he did what not many public figures in Russia dare to do: mockery of Vladimir Putin and his followers. Galkin was not allowed to show his ingenious parodies of the Kremlin boss on state television. But at his concerts he didn’t mince his words. Crowded halls roared with laughter whenever Galkin lapsed into Putin’s halting, uptight manner of speaking – whether in Russia, Europe or the USA.
It’s a massive fan base to draw on for Galkin. Putin himself is said to have been one of them – and turned a blind eye to the megastar’s taunts. Until recently.
The war in Ukraine changed everything for Galkin. Russian troops were in the neighboring country for a few hours when Galkin positioned himself against the war: “I’ve been in contact with my relatives and friends in Ukraine since the early morning. I can’t put into words how I feel! How is everything That’s only possible! There can be no justification for war! No to war!” Galkin wrote on his Instagram channel on the first day of the war.
9.5 million people follow the parodist on the social network, which is now considered “extremist” in Russia and has been blocked as part of a huge censorship campaign.
Maxim Galkin leaves Russia
Anticipating what may come, Galkin and his wife Pugacheva were among the first stars to turn their backs on Russia. As for thousands of Russian citizens with Jewish roots, his destination was Israel. The entertainer comes from a Jewish officer family. Arriving in Israel, Galkin does not hide his opinion.
On the orthodox Easter, the 45-year-old directed sharp words against the government in Moscow: “I can’t help but ask a few questions that every normal person has to ask themselves. On the eve of Easter (…), Russian rockets hit an apartment building in Odessa. A family dies, a three-month-old baby dies. How does that fit together? How? Explain that to me!”
“Russia is to blame for so many terrible things”
“Let’s start with the fact that rockets shouldn’t target houses. And that’s on weekdays too, and not just on holidays,” Galkin ventures a small sarcastic punch line. “But now I’m hearing that those oh-so-accurate missiles hit a residential building because Ukrainian air defenses shot them down.” shaking his head. There is a complete lack of understanding in the face of the comedian at these words. “So that means that the anti-aircraft defense has to stop working? And then everything is fine?”
“Russia is to blame for so many terrible things. But claims no guilt: The atrocities in Bucha – we weren’t! The Malaysian Boeing – we weren’t! Mariupol razed – we weren’t! A missile hits Odessa – that’s what we were, but not quite! We weren’t everything!” Galkin summarizes the Kremlin’s point of view. His legitimate question: “But what are we going to do there?”
A question to which, along with Galkin, the world does not get an answer. Instead, the comedian is declared a public enemy.
Witch hunt for Maxim Galkin
In the past few days, Kremlin propaganda has poured a bucketful of dirt and filth on Galkin. His concerts have been cancelled. His face banned from TV. He lost all advertising contracts. His property in Russia is to be confiscated. Newspapers loyal to the Kremlin reported that he was involved in a murder case in Israel. His wife Pugacheva is close to death. He is a traitor.
The crowning put on the witch hunt RT boss Margarita Simonjan. “He allows himself such things that I allow myself to say what I’ve always thought about him: If a person who everyone knows is gay, as a diversion, for personal enrichment, for his career, a elderly woman marries and convinces his auditorium that true love binds them together, then the full extent of that person’s hypocrisy, mendacity and general qualities is revealed.”
The boss of the propaganda station RT alluded to Galkin’s marriage to the 73-year-old Pugacheva. “You are such a lying person. (…) And you allow yourself to throw dirt on my fatherland,” she said further in a show on state television.
Homosexuality becomes branding
It is an open secret that Galkin is actually homosexual and has a sham marriage with Pugacheva. But as is so often the case, nobody in Russia talks about the obvious. As is the case with many other stars, homosexuality is passed over in silence as long as those affected are crowd pleasers—and more importantly, as long as they are loyal to the Kremlin line.
The Galkin case now demonstrates what happens when this is no longer the case. His sexuality becomes a weapon against him in order to knock him off the Olympus of show business. In recent years, public homophobia in Russia has reached unprecedented levels. Branding someone as homosexual is tantamount to making a public declaration of being a leper.
Despite all the hostility
But Galkin is not deterred by this: he will be giving several concerts in Israel in June. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit refugees from Ukraine. The Russian-speaking community responded with a raging demand. The tickets are now sold out.