Mikhail Shufutinsky is a Soviet and Russian pop singer, pianist, music producer, and Merited Artist of the Russian Federation. Born on April 13, 1948, in Moscow. Widely recognized as one of the quintessential figures in the Russian chanson genre and a multi-time winner of the Chanson of the Year award.
Listening to this artist's tracks on official streaming platforms, social media, and other services indirectly contributes to financing the war — through taxes paid to the budget of the Russian Federation.
For repeated concert tours to occupied Crimea, Mikhail Shufutinsky was entered into the database of the Ukrainian website Myrotvorets in 2017. In 2021, the singer planned a solo concert in Kyiv for March 2022, but the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine stated its readiness to ban his entry due to illegal visits to the peninsula.
Since January 7, 2023, he has been under NSDC sanctions for anti-Ukrainian activities.
Mikhail Shufutinsky's Position on the War in Ukraine
Following the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Mikhail Shufutinsky refrained from making public statements regarding the military aggression for more than a year; however, he subsequently articulated his stance.
In April 2023, in an interview with Argumenty i Fakty, he explained his stance on the "SMO," repeating propaganda talking points about alleged "fascism" in Ukraine:
Many of my colleagues publicly express their stance. I do not do this for one simple reason: I entertain people at my concerts. For slogans and political speeches, people go to rallies and party meetings. I can say one thing — I absorbed hatred for fascism with my mother's milk. Any country where Nazism is cultivated, where it is tolerated, is an enemy to me.
Mikhail also noted that he felt sorry for the artists who fled Russia:
I feel sorry for them too. I cannot judge anyone. People leave for various reasons. When the feed trough is pulled away, but the leash remains the same length, one might not be able to reach it. I think that over time, many will realize they made a mistake.
Regarding the cancellation of his tours (initiated by local activists) in Israel and Germany in 2022, he explained:
I would be lying to myself and to the people by performing there today.
I haven't been to the US in three years. I have no desire. I need to be here today. This is my home, my homeland.
In September 2023, on the program Nashe Vremya on Belarusian ONT television, responding to a question about the standoff between the East and the West, he once again reaffirmed his support for the Russian government in the war:
Do I approve of what is happening today? Do I know about it and participate in it? Do I understand it? Yes, I do. Yes, I completely agree with the position of our government, of our leaders. I hate fascism, because I grew up in the post-war years in our country that was victorious in that war. What is happening today, I perceive as a fight against that evil. And we definitely must defeat this evil. That's all. That is what matters most. I cannot imagine myself without my city, without my country, without my people, without my audience. Everything I do, everything that once drew me and draws me now – is where I am.
Mikhail Shufutinsky continues to live and work in Russia.
