Maxim Galkin is one of Russia’s best-known entertainers – and, more recently, one of its most well-known dissidents. An encounter in Israel, where he tries to build a new life.
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Peter Munch, Tel Aviv
Outside the VIP room are two guards in black looking grim as if they missed the show. Inside stands Maxim Galkin, who has just finished the show: two hours and ten minutes, with a cascade of jokes and parodies, cheered on by the audience. He’s holding the mobile phone in his hand, hasn’t noticed the sandwiches and the fruit on the long table, he’s still excited. He welcomes you with a radiant stage smile and a confession in German: “I once studied Goethe.”