Russian 'queen of pop' Alla Pugacheva to be branded a 'foreign agent'

The Kremlin is considering labelling one of Russia’s most famous pop stars a “foreign agent”, as it intensifies its clampdown on celebrities who oppose the war in Ukraine.

Alla Pugacheva, 74, is known as the “Queen of Soviet pop” and has won several state awards, including from Vladimir Putin, but pro-war activists have now persuaded prosecutors to investigate her as an enemy of the state.

Vitaly Borodin, a pro-Kremlin activist regarded by Russian opposition media as a “Z-informer”, said: “Pugacheva is being checked right now and everything is at the discretion of the regulatory authorities.”

Russian prosecutors said that they were investigating Ms Pugacheva for saying that “normal people” are not going to return to Russia.

Ms Pugacheva has sold 250 million records in Russia and the Soviet Union since the 1960s and her catchy pop songs are known across the country.

She quit Russia in 2022 with her fifth husband, Maxim Galkin, the 47-year-old talk-show host, describing the invasion of Ukraine as an “illusory goal” that burdened ordinary people and would turn Russia into a pariah.

She fled first to Israel and is now reportedly in Cyprus.

She has continued to make public statements from abroad. In a video posted to her 3.7 million Instagram subscribers this month, Ms Pugacheva trolled Stas Mikhailov, a pro-Kremlin singer who had told her to crawl back to Russia.

“I’m not going to go back there. So, go ahead, make money while you can,” she said, mimicking the singer’s deep voice. “You’re a fool, Stas.”

Ms Pugacheva came to the attention of Putin supporters for taking six days from Friday’s gun attack on Crocus City Hall to make a comment in public.

“Grief should be in your soul, not in Instagram,” she posted on Instagram on Thursday.

She was also criticised for apologising to a Tajik singer who wept over the “public torture” of the Tajik suspects detained for the attack.

The Kremlin has targeted show business stars who fled overseas by using diplomatic channels to make their lives harder.

In January, Mr Galkin, Ms Pugacheva’s husband, had been due to perform a comedy act in Indonesia but was denied entry and, separately, police kicked Russian anti-war rock band Bi-2 out of Thailand, where they had been on tour.

But despite the pressure from pro-war activists to sanction Ms Pugacheva, other celebrities said that her huge fan base would protect her.

Ksenia Sobchak, Vladimir Putin’s socialite goddaughter, said: “It would be a big mistake. She is a massive and widespread figure.”

Russia’s “foreign agent” label has negative Soviet-era connotations and makes financial and bureaucratic transactions more complicated.

Such a step would almost certainly need approval from the Kremlin. It has yet to make a pronouncement in public on Ms Pugacheva and could still stop the process.

Shot, a Russian media outlet with close ties to the security services, said an official announcement may be made on her 75th birthday on April 15.