Taisiya Povaliy is a Ukrainian singer, actress, and public figure. She was born on December 10, 1964, in Shamraivka, Kyiv Oblast. Povaliy's musical career launched in the 1990s, when she became one of the most popular singers in Ukraine and across the post-Soviet space. From 2012 to 2014, she served as a People's Deputy of Ukraine (Member of Parliament).
People's Artist of Ukraine (1997)—stripped of this honorary title in 2022 and included in the sanctions list of Ukraine's NSDC. This entails the freezing of assets in Ukraine, suspension of economic and financial obligations, termination of cultural exchanges and cooperation, and revocation of Ukrainian state awards.
Taisiya Povaliy's stance on the war in Ukraine
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Taisiya Povaliy initially refrained from commenting on the war. However, she later moved to Moscow and publicly declared her support for the assault on Ukraine. According to Povaliy, Vladimir Putin is "ridding the world of Nazism," she describes Russian aggression as "a restoration of justice," and refers to Putin as "a hope for the future."
On May 9, 2023, she performed in Moscow at a concert dedicated to Victory Day.
Photo: Povaliy performing the Ukrainian folk song "Pisnya pro rushnyk" at the Victory Day concert on Russia 1.
Denis Povaliy, Taisiya's son, openly supported Ukraine in the war with Russia, in stark contrast to his mother.
On August 24, 2023, she obtained Russian citizenship on Ukraine's Independence Day.
In September 2023, Povaliy performed at a concert in temporarily occupied Luhansk at the invitation of the head of the "LPR" proxy regime, Leonid Pasechnik. From the stage, she spoke in support of Russian terrorists and glorified their participation in the war against Ukraine.
On February 15, 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) served Taisiya Povaliy a notice of suspicion in absentia under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: collaborationism; public calls for aggressive war; and justifying and recognizing as legitimate the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. If apprehended, she faces up to 12 years in prison.
On March 17, 2024, the artist flaunted her Russian passport on Instagram, stating that she had voted for the first time in Russian presidential elections:
I voted for the happy future of my country, Russia. I am overwhelmed with immense pride to be part of a great nation.
Quotes from Taisiya Povaliy's interview on January 23, 2023, for Dni.ru:
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"Since childhood, I have been accustomed to being where the truth is. Therefore, I stand with Russia. I advocate for a return from the brainwashed condition in which my Ukraine finds itself today to a normal life. After all, throughout these eight years I lived with an inability to understand why all of this was happening in Donbas, why people were being killed there. I lived on the hope of the Minsk agreements, which, as we see today, were merely a smokescreen; I lived on the hope of peaceful negotiations. My soul tore apart when people burned in the House of Trade Unions in Odesa. I wept when Dr. Liza died in a plane crash, even though so many in Ukraine rejoiced at her death... I couldn't believe those were my compatriots! And so I waited for the arrival of the time of justice. Finally, it is arriving. I dearly want the people in Donbas to live the way they themselves desire, without having anything imposed upon them or violated. And right now, that is precisely what the struggle is being fought for."
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"And in what Russia is doing today, I see the salvation of both myself and Ukraine. I feel that Russia is protecting me right now. Throughout these eight years, I didn't understand how I would continue living, what my future held. But now—I see it. Hope has appeared in me. Vladimir Putin is to me the man capable of preserving a strong Russia and ridding the world of Nazism, which I confronted directly. In my view, this is his historic mission."
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"Of course, her [mother's] roots and family graves are there. She constantly asks me when we will go back home. And I tell her: 'Mom, we are already home! In Moscow! In Russia!'"
Video: How the war saved Povaliy from death
Celebrities on Taisiya Povaliy's stance
Let her live in her beloved Russia and never set foot on Ukrainian soil again. Take the exact same path as the Russian warship.
I am at a complete loss: I cannot determine which f***ing disgrace is more disgraceful. Taisiya Povaliy performing a Ukrainian song today on the Russia 1 channel, or the deranged Victory Day celebrations staged by Russians?
She turned against her own people. If she performs there and supports that government, it means she endorses the murder of Ukrainians. What kind of Ukrainian citizen is she? Well then, come back here, and let yourself be shot too.
Everything she had was tied up in Russia long ago. I don't know why. Those are all excuses: that I have business in Russia, this and that in Russia. Those are all excuses. Either you possess this within yourself, or you don't. When the land where you grew up is trampled under boots—I can find no justification. None at all... Neither Povaliy, nor Ani Lorak, nor Kirkorov are needed anywhere else except in Russia... Nobody needs their voices. They have zero value in the wider world.
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