The head of Vladivostok, Konstantin Shestakov, called on the organizers of the concerts of Kristina Orbakaite and Diana Arbenina to cancel the events, TASS reports with reference to the press service of the mayor's office.
“The basis for this decision was the official appeal of the all-Russian public movement “Cultural Front of Russia” ; with a demand to cancel performances in the City of Military Glory of Vladivostok by these artists,” the department reported.
As noted, “the final decision to cancel the performance must be made by the organizer of the concerts, taking into account all the circumstances and public opinion.” Orbakaite's concert is scheduled for March 19, Arbenina's for February 27.
Arbenina's concert director Alexandra Roerich told NSN that she had not received any proposals from the mayor's office.
“I read this information in the media. There were no attempts from the Vladivostok authorities to cancel our concert, which is not surprising, because this is illegal. Leaving five thousand residents of Vladivostok without a concert to please the request of a group of people based solely on lies and fantasies is contrary not only to the law, but also to common sense,” she noted.
At the same time, on February 5, the Municipal Center Administration of Vladivostok — the body for coordinating various departments of the city administration — emphasized that there are no reasons for canceling Orbakaite’s concert:
“Singer Kristina Orbakaite is not officially a foreign agent; her creative repertoire complies with the law,” the center insisted. — The viewer makes his own choice whether to go to the concert or not, using his constitutional right. However, the issue and compliance with the constitutional principles of the Russian Federation does not go unnoticed.”
Kristina Orbakaite only in the very first days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine published on Instagram the text “Only Peaceful Sky! No war!» After that, she performed concerts in Russia, but in February 2024 her concerts in Siberia were canceled due to activists who incorrectly called Orbakaite “the daughter of a foreign agent”: her mother Alla Pugacheva spoke out against the war, but in the register of “foreign agents” her no.
Arbenina spoke out against the annexation of Crimea, and at a concert in Chelyabinsk she performed the anti-war song “Don’t be silent”, but in October 2023 she invited the wife of a military man who was participating in the invasion of Ukraine to the stage and sang with her song.