Kanye West is expected to perform in Russia in October. In an article, the German magazine “Der Spiegel” revisits West’s concert in Albania, noting that the event in Tirana took place amid large protests, and that the government of Edi Rama allegedly made over 4 million euros available for its organization.
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The Spiegel article
“I am Putin. I am the new Putin,” Kanye West said on the YouTube show “Drink Champs.” When did he realize the similarity? “When I realized that culture is oil, that culture is energy. And I am the king of culture – for 20 years and for the next 2000 years,” the rapper said.
And it may soon happen that the two Putins, the “old” and the “new,” meet face to face. In October, West is expected to give two concerts in Russia for the first time.
The concerts are scheduled for October 10 and 11 in St. Petersburg. In Russia, the enthusiasm is so great that more than 80,000 tickets were sold within the first day.
Whenever Kanye West (now also known as Ye) is expected to perform somewhere, scandal seems pre-programmed. Just in July, the rapper’s concert in Albania took place amid large protests. The Rama government had allegedly provided over four million euros for it.
Ye has been in the news headlines in recent years, above all for his anti-Semitic statements, which made him persona non grata. Now he is expected to perform in Russia, and Kremlin circles have said that Putin wanted to meet him.
But this may not happen. On August 24, representatives of Gazprom Arena stated that the venue had not signed a lease agreement for the use of the stadium for Ye’s concert. “Therefore, the concert cannot take place at our venue,” they said.
Why should the rapper perform in Russia? There are various interpretations. Some see it as a sign of the return of a lively entertainment scene in Russia. Others think Putin simply wants to legitimize himself through Ye in pop culture and thus gain sympathy points.
“Despite the blacklists”
But what is clear is the hype around Ye’s concert in St. Petersburg is justified. In Russia, at least since the start of the war in Ukraine, there have been no more concerts by global stars. When rappers like Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame or Xzibit performed somewhere, it was in smaller clubs for a few thousand hip-hop fans, not in stadiums.
There are several reasons for this. The concert industry in Russia has lost about 30 percent of its artists since 2022, most of whom filled stadiums. On one hand, many musicians who positioned themselves against the war in Ukraine left Russia, while on the other hand, the ban on performances for musicians who criticized Putin also caused this decline.
According to the Russian opposition online newspaper “Meduza,” the “blacklists” of Russian musicians subject to a quiet ban on concerts are drawn up by the presidential administration. On these lists are, for example, the group Kasta, rappers Oxxxymiron and Noize MC, singer Zemfira and many others.
To be removed from this list, musicians must perform an “act of repentance”: either by performing in the occupied territories of Ukraine, or by making a donation to a foundation supporting Russian soldiers.
This is what, for example, the popular Russian band Zveri did, whose frontman Roma Zver initially criticized the Russian aggression in Ukraine, but after several concerts were canceled, deleted all critical posts from social media and performed in Donetsk in front of Russian soldiers.
Against some Russian musicians who spoke out against the war in Ukraine, the Russian repressive machinery has deployed its full power. For example, singer Eduard Charlot was sentenced to five and a half years in prison after posting videos on social media. In them, he burned his Russian passport, criticized the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and nailed to a tree a photo of Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and a cross he made.
He was charged with “rehabilitation of Nazism” and “violation of the religious feelings of believers.”
Against this backdrop, the rapper Kanye West, who has openly expressed his sympathy for Adolf Hitler and compared himself to God, should have automatically ended up on all kinds of Russian “blacklists.” Should have. Instead, he gets money and, perhaps, also a large venue for his concert. To understand why Kanye West is an exception to the rule for the Kremlin, one must look at who is specifically organizing his concert in St. Petersburg.
Invitation from war supporters
The Say Agency, responsible for Kanye West’s concerts in Russia, is run by businesswoman Anna Subtsheva. Subtsheva openly appears as a supporter of the Russian war against Ukraine. Thus, for example, in June 2023 she posted a photo from Donetsk on social media and commented with the words: “Donetsk is very beautiful when it is not being shot at by Ukrainian fascists.”
For her commitment to supporting Russian troops at the front, Subtsheva received from the commander of a military unit in Donetsk the medal “Participant in the special military operation.”
In a comment on the upcoming concert, Subtsheva stated that Kanye West has long wanted to meet personally with Vladimir Putin: “It is still difficult to say who he will meet, but a long-standing dream of Mr. West is a meeting with our President Vladimir Putin, for whom he has expressed his sympathy for several years.”
In the Kremlin, it is assumed that such a meeting with Putin is hypothetically possible, if “it manages to be fit into the schedule of the head of the Russian state.”
In reality, the upcoming concert of Kanye West does not symbolize a return to a wild entertainment scene. Sergei Smirnov, editor-in-chief of the Russian opposition media “Mediazona,” calls attention to the date: the rapper’s concert is planned for the peak of the fall conscription for military service.
“I have information that all male visitors to Kanye West’s concert, when they enter the stadium, will receive a summons for the military commission,” Smirnov said on his Telegram channel. It was precisely for this reason that Kanye West was invited to Russia and paid three times the initially agreed fee: “It will be a big special Kremlin operation for mobilization.”
Whether the concert will really take place still seems up in the air. Meanwhile, the organizers at Say Agency urge patience and to wait for official information. They are convinced that the concert will take place anyway, among other things because the advance payment for Kanye West has already been made.
