Alla Pugacheva gave journalist Katerina Gordeeva over a three-hour interview. In it, the singer talked about her life, her children, and even Chechen General Dzhokhar Dudayev. The interest in the interview turned out to be greater than that in Alexei Navalny's film, which the oppositionist had dedicated to corruption at the top of power in Russia. Pugacheva said almost nothing about Russia's aggression against Ukraine. But the reactions of Russian society show that it has long been waiting for a conversation about how the state betrayed it.
Pugacheva remains a prima donna
I do not intend to analyze Alla Pugacheva's interview, but only the reactions it caused in society, in the professional media community, and in the Russian government. I did not even watch the whole thing right away – I had decided that I would do it when the number of views in Russia exceeded 15 million, which would mean that at least one in ten Russians had watched it, which means that the famous Soviet pop singer could still influence minds. To be honest, I doubted it very much.
Meanwhile, the number of views is almost 20 million, although these are certainly not only residents of Russia, but also emigrants, as well as citizens of the countries that were once part of the Soviet Union. Personally, I have never really been interested in her work, but for millions of Russians Alla Pugacheva remains a recognized leader of public opinion - a star or a prima donna, as the media has called her for decades. And not only representatives of the Russian-language media community, but also the curators of Kremlin propaganda apparently agree with this.
Unwanted person number one
As soon as the interview appeared, Russian media experts predicted that the singer's statements were doomed to widespread circulation. If only because Alla Pugacheva had not given such interviews for a long time, and her every statement is still an event to this day. And so it happened.
Of course, many continue to claim that it is unknown how many people in Russia watched the interview due to slow YouTube, content blocking, and the massive forced use of VPNs. But the Kremlin and its propaganda "dogs", starting with Ramzan Kadyrov (the president of Chechnya – ed.) and ending with Maria Zakharova (the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry – ed.) confirm that the interview was noticed, that its audience and its influence were negatively assessed by Vladimir Putin and his entourage, and the command "Hold!" was given.
The goal of the campaign against Pugacheva
The Kremlin's instructions were expressed most clearly by producer Iosif Prigozhin – in a comment on the singer's interview, he stated that Alla Pugacheva left Russia because she – had lost her influence in her homeland–. The producer probably received the corresponding instructions directly from the president's office – The campaign against Pugacheva is clearly being led by the Russian ruling elite.
Even Ramzan Kadyrov, who can unerringly recognize the desire to attack "Putin's enemies" even without a special order, is involved in it. Kadyrov launched the attacks before the others, probably because Pugacheva spoke positively about Dzhokhar Dudayev, who was trying to create an independent Chechnya and was killed by the Russian military.
As usual, the goals of this Kremlin campaign are full of internal contradictions. On the one hand, Pugacheva should be declared an enemy of Russia, a traitor, as Kadyrov is doing. On the other hand, it must be proven that she is no longer interesting to anyone in Russia, as Prigozhin says.
Pugacheva's belated criticism
For now, it is still not possible to speak directly to Russians about the war. The Kremlin apparently believes that Pugacheva's vague criticism, almost without mentioning the aggression against Ukraine, is precisely what can break through the powerful psychological defenses included by Russian society in 2022, which to this day help it successfully ignore war crimes.
For the Russian authorities, a blow like the one with the interview with Pugacheva, who speaks the same language as most Russians, is currently particularly painful. But there is also a feeling that it is, unfortunately, late. The first shock of the start of the war has long passed. At that time, Pugacheva was still visiting the Kremlin and was just getting ready to leave (for Israel, where she currently resides - ed.). Now they apparently heard her, but will anything from this interview remain in the minds of Russians in a month?
Author: Ivan Preobrazhensky