BadComedian on the war

BadComedian's position on the war in Ukraine

In April 2022, Bazhenov published a post on his Telegram channel, calling what was unfolding in Ukraine a tragedy and criticizing individuals who had supported the Russian authorities for years and only began protesting when the consequences directly impacted them:

Friends, current events are maximally tragic and to me, being half-Katsap and half-Khokhol, it is insanely sad and painful. I wish ROSKOMNADZOR hadn't occurred on the territory of Ukraine, but who gives a fuck about my wishes? And which of them gives a fuck about the horror of ROSKOMNADZOR

At the same time, the blogger deliberately avoided direct terminology regarding the war. Using the euphemism "ROSKOMNADZOR" instead of directly referencing the war appeared to be an attempt to circumvent Russian speech restrictions. In that same post, the blogger mentioned Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, effectively attributing his circumspection to the fear of criminal prosecution.

Video on Russian and Ukrainian propaganda in cinema

In July 2022, he released a YouTube review in which he compared two films in his signature style: "Russian Character" (a Russian film) and "The Guard" (a Ukrainian TV series). In the video, he accused the film industries of both countries of churning out propaganda, adopting an equivocal "it's not all so clear-cut" stance. He concluded that both films depicted their peoples through simplistic "our guys are good, their guys are evil" tropes that allegedly only inflamed the conflict.

The blogger also voiced a conspiracy theory suggesting that the war is being secretly stoked by oligarchs and politicians who enrich themselves on people's deaths, while ordinary people should live in peace.

His nearly three-hour video accumulated over 7 million views within two days.

Video: [BadComedian] - Russian vs. Ukrainian propaganda in cinema

Bazhenov's stance was heavily criticized by Ukrainian bloggers and journalists for false equivalence and equating the aggressor with the victim.

Aid to civilians

On June 22, 2022, the film critic reported on his Telegram channel about providing aid to civilians on both sides of the conflict:

I didn't really want this to be hyped up, but since it turned out that way...
Yes, the last monetization payout (before the shutdown) was sent to assist civilians.
Part went to civilians on one side of the front line, part to civilians on the other side. People watched me on both sides. And I do not divide CIVILIANS into the right ones and the wrong ones. Forgive me. That's just how it is.

Video on similarities between the Kremlin and Nazi Germany

One cannot fail to mention the blogger's rather bold video review titled "Only Psychics Go into Battle (Ilyin and Medinsky against Nazis)", released in August 2023. In it, BadComedian explicitly demonstrates that the Kremlin regime acts as a direct heir to Hitler's regime. He explains how the Nazis, prior to invading Poland and the USSR, employed propaganda pretexts of "if we hadn't attacked first, they would have attacked us," how they conducted themselves in occupied territories, and how they refused to call war a war or described it as purely "defensive."

BadComedian continues to live and work in the Russian Federation.