Several Russian celebrities — who operate within Russia’s largely state-owned entertainment industry — risked a potential exposure ban by state media this week through their …
Several Russian celebrities — who operate within Russia’s largely state-owned entertainment industry — risked a potential exposure ban by state media this week through their public protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, Fortune magazine reported. “Russia’s entertainment industry is largely state-owned, and while no celebrities have criticized [Russian President Vladimir] Putin by name, their outcry could lead to bans from any exposure on state media,” the business-focused magazine observed on February 24. Russian pop star Valery Meladze denounced Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine through a video message he shared with his 50,000 Instagram followers on February 24. “Today something happened that could and should never have happened. History will judge everything one day. Now I want to beg you to stop military action and sit down to negotiate,” Meladze said in the video clip. “Fear and pain. NO to war,” Russian television host and comedian Ivan Urgant (above, left) wrote in a caption accompanying a black square posted to his Instagram account on Thursday.
