The Russian pop singer Alla Pugacheva has said she is in Israel, three weeks after she publicly criticised Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine when Moscow declared her husband a “foreign agent”.
“I thank my multimillion army of fans for their love and support, for the ability to distinguish truth from lies,” the 73-year-old, known as the “queen of Soviet pop music”, said in an Instagram post on Monday.
“From the Holy Land, I pray for you and for peace,” she told her 3.4 million followers. “I am happy!”
Pugacheva, who has sold more than 250m records, became hugely popular during the Soviet era and has remained so over a career spanning more than 55 years. She is among the most famous people in the Russian-speaking world for hits such as the 1982 song Million Scarlet Roses and the 1978 film The Woman Who Sings.
Her husband, the television presenter and comedian Maxim Galkin, joined journalists, human rights activists and Kremlin opponents in September in being labelled a “foreign agent” for opposing the invasion.
The couple left Russia for Israel shortly after the war began in February: Galkin, 46, is eligible for Israeli citizenship under the country’s law of return, which gives people with Jewish roots the right to acquire Israeli citizenship.
Pugacheva, however, appears to have returned to Russia with their two children ahead of the new school year, attending the funeral of the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow in September.
Last month, after Galkin’s designation, the singer made a bold statement against the war in Ukraine, in an address to the Russian justice ministry posted to her Instagram account.
“I am asking you to include me on the foreign agents list of my beloved country,” she wrote.
“Because I stand in solidarity with my husband, who is an honest and ethical person, a true and incorruptible Russian patriot, who only wishes for prosperity, peace and freedom of expression in his motherland.”
The artist said her husband wanted “the end of the deaths of our boys for illusory goals that make our country a pariah and weigh heavily on the lives of its citizens”.
According to the Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti, Pugacheva has since been placed under investigation for “discrediting” the Russian army. Domestic criticism of the invasion of Ukraine has been met with a fierce crackdown, including fines and prison sentences for dissenters.
About 24,000 Russians have moved to Israel since the start of the war, and another 35,000 are waiting for paperwork to be processed, according to the Jewish Agency, which facilitates Jewish immigration to Israel.
Israel has tried to remain neutral since the conflict began. The country relies on Moscow to facilitate its military operations next door in Syria, but has also faced pressure from its western allies to impose sanctions and take forceful diplomatic action.
It has provided humanitarian aid but has refrained from sending military assistance, despite criticism from Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
In June, the Russian justice ministry recommended the Jewish Agency, a quasi-governmental body, be shut down for violating privacy laws.
Israel’s caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, has warned that closing the Jewish Agency’s offices would be a severe blow to bilateral relations.
News agencies contributed to this report
