One of Russia’s most famous singers, Alla Pugacheva, has come out swinging against the war in Ukraine in her first public comments against Vladimir Putin, calling out the “death of our boys for illusory goals.” Last week, the pop icon’s husband, Maxim Galkin, was labeled a “foreign agent” by the Kremlin for opposing the war. The couple fled Russia after the invasion and moved to Israel, with Galkin touring a stand up comedy show across Israel and Europe that was critical of Russia and its leaders. Pugacheva returned to Russia in August before her husband was declared a “foreign agent” Sept. 16. In an Instagram post to her 3.4 million followers, Pugacheva urged the Russian Ministry of Justice: “Please include me in the ranks of foreign agents of my beloved country, since I am in solidarity with my husband.” She described Galkin as “an honest, decent and sincere man, a true and incorruptible patriot of Russia who wants his Homeland to flourish in peace, with freedom of speech.” She then said the couple wants “an end to our boys dying for illusory goals, which has turned our country into a pariah state and made life a burden for our citizens.” Pugacheva, 73, has sold more than 250 million records in a career spanning more than 55 years.
