Sasha Dolgopolov is a Russian stand-up comedian and humorist. They were born on November 18, 1994, in Magadan, and spent their childhood and youth in Voronezh. From 2022 to 2023, they performed under the stage name Sasha Kapadya. In 2023, they came out as a non-binary person.
Even before the full-scale war, Sasha Dolgopolov adhered to opposition views and openly criticized the Russian authorities, Putin, and state propaganda. In 2020, facing persecution over a case of "insulting religious believers' feelings", they temporarily left Russia. Even after returning, the comedian continued to speak out against censorship, repressive legislation, and Kremlin policy.
Sasha Dolgopolov's position on the war in Ukraine
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Sasha Dolgopolov took an open anti-war stance by publishing a post on Instagram:
Nobody needs this war except power-crazed old men who run our country and want to stay in power through war. This is terrible, this is savage, I am ashamed that I was born and live in this country, I am infinitely sorry, it hurts, it is sad, this is an indelible stain on all of us, we failed to stop Putin in time and now the whole world is paying for it. Right now we can only speak out against the war, use our resources to help those imprisoned for protesting, put up anti-war posters, persuade those around us, boycott this system as much as possible — don't work for the state, don't take their money, renounce all support for this regime. There are many ways, do everything within your power, but also take care of yourselves!
On the very first morning, they attempted to organize an anti-war charity concert in support of Ukraine, but other artists began pulling out en masse due to incoming threats. They then launched an open collective letter by comedians against the war, which also had to be shut down for the safety of the signatories.
Realizing that legal instruments of protest inside Russia had been completely destroyed, in March 2022 Dolgopolov left the country permanently, departing for Tbilisi and later relocating to Berlin.
Aid to Ukraine
Dolgopolov openly calls the actions of the Russian army a crime and occupation. While in Georgia, they immediately switched to performing in English, considering it inappropriate to "open my mouth in Russian" in a country 20% of which had been occupied by Russia in 2008. All of their work was pivoted to a charitable basis:
I decided to try doing performances in English and give all the money we earn to help refugees
Later, Dolgopolov openly admitted to making financial donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU):
I donated before the mobilization... I don't think of these people as mine. I think of them as occupational troops that came to Ukraine to destroy and kill people.
They condemned fellow performers who chose a strategy of silence or earning money on pro-government platforms (VK):
If you consciously adopt the stance «I am outside of politics», it means you are consciously supporting the war crimes taking place right now
Parody of the murder of Vladlen Tatarsky
In April 2023, a massive controversy erupted around Dolgopolov and their colleague Garik Oganisyan after they staged a parody of presenting a statuette to the deceased pro-regime blogger Vladlen Tatarsky during a concert in Berlin. This prompted the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Aleksandr Bastrykin, to launch a criminal inquiry against the comedians under charges of state treason and justifying terrorism. In response, Dolgopolov stated that they have no plans to return to Russia and are building their life in exile on the premise that the road back to their homeland is closed forever.
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