FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian pop singer Alla Pugacheva pose for a photo during an awards ceremony in Moscow's Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 22, 2014. The Russian Orthodox Church on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, called for an apology from Alla Pugacheva, the country's most renowned pop singer who returned home this week, over her criticism of Russia's war on Ukraine.
In September of that year, she sparked widespread attention by both supporters and opponents of the conflict by saying that Russian soldiers were dying for “illusory goals” and that the country had become “a pariah.” She also provocatively suggested that authorities should name her a “foreign agent” — a status already applied to her husband Maxim Galkin, an actor and comedian.
Although Russia enacted a law after the start of the Ukraine war that calls for prison terms or fines for denigrating the armed forces, Pugacheva has not been charged. She came back to Russia in May to attend the funeral of fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin, where Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was seen kissing her hand.