Kizaru (Oleg Nechiporenko) is a Russian hip-hop artist, member and founder of the creative collective «Haunted Family». Born on May 21, 1989 in Leningrad, RSFSR. In 2014, Kizaru relocated to Barcelona following his arrest in Saint Petersburg on charges of narcotics distribution. He served approximately three and a half months in a Spanish prison. Nechiporenko was placed on the Russian federal wanted list, and entry into the territory of Russia is closed to him.
Kizaru’s Position on the War in Ukraine
Anti-War Statement After the Outbreak of the Invasion
On February 25, 2022, Kizaru published a post on Instagram urging an immediate cessation of military hostilities with the hashtag #NoToWar. The publication was subsequently deleted.
The rapper also hosted a live stream in which he spoke out vehemently regarding Russia's war against Ukraine:
I was in prison, got out, and nothing has changed here. Everything has only turned worse <...> I hadn't watched Russian television for 8 years, and then I switched on 'Rossiya'. People churn the exact same sh*t year in and year out. And I wonder, how much more sh*t do you have to churn to understand that it's sh*t? <...> Nobody needs this, the younger generation in Russia doesn't need this, the younger generation in Ukraine doesn't need this, f***ing nobody needs this. All people need is to develop, build their country <...> Who do you have to be to send people to slaughter your own folk. Who do you have to be in your old age to completely lose your f***ing mind. I don't know what they are smoking over there, but apparently they are smoking something heavy in Russia; let me have a smoke too.
Scandal with His Ukrainian Ex-Girlfriend
In March 2023, Kizaru published a post on social media criticizing young women who departed their countries after February 24 and began publicly flaunting national symbols:
I'm screaming laughing at chicks who plastered flags of their beloved country everywhere, but only after February 24! They speak about hardships, yet live either in Europe on their sugar daddies' dime or in Bali, and continue posting half-naked photos... F***, how miserable you must feel, my darlings.
The rapper's former girlfriend Valeriya — a Ukrainian — responded to the publication. She reminded him that Kizaru had previously planned to secure a Ukrainian passport himself, and rebuked him for keeping silent about the war:
I'm screaming laughing at the morons who were going to acquire a Ukrainian passport, and after February 24 shoved their tongues up their a** so as not to lose their brainwashed vatnik subscribers... It's going to suck for you with your red cardboard passports. We would gladly spend our partners' money at home, in our wonderful country! But your damn missiles are landing there, while you cowards sit across various countries hiding from mobilization and staying silent!
Incident with the Ukrainian Flag
During a concert by Kizaru in Frankfurt, Germany, the crowd began chanting "Putin is a dickhead". At that moment, a concertgoer threw a Ukrainian flag onto the stage. Upon seeing the flag, Kizaru refused to pick it up and gestured that he had no intention of participating in such «games».
«I Do Not Choose Any Side»
Kizaru commented on the dispute and the episode regarding the Ukrainian passport in a feature article by The Flow. Despite his initial anti-war statements, the rapper subsequently declined to explicitly take Ukraine's side:
The most heartbreaking part is that all the guys from Ukraine still maintain great communication with me to this day and we stay in touch. I do not choose anyone's side, I stand for human beings and for world peace. Scumbags exist everywhere. It is regrettable that not everyone recognizes this.
Consequently, Kizaru publicly condemned the war in the early days of the invasion, but subsequently retreated into the conventional posture typical of many Russian performers of being «above politics» and «for peace», refusing to assign direct accountability for the war to Russia.
Working with the Russian Audience
Kizaru is a tax resident of Spain, where he officially resides and pays taxes on his revenue and Haunted Family business ventures. Simultaneously, from streams of his music on Russian platforms, taxes are withheld by distribution companies automatically and transferred into the budget of the Russian Federation, indirectly funding the war in Ukraine.
Відео знайти не зміг
очевидно что он против войны