Max Barskikh and “God's dew”. Why Russia forgives all artists who publicly spit at it
In the series of anti-Russian sanctions, there was a small, but for some, undoubtedly pleasant relaxation. Ukrainian performer Max Barskikh (underneath this well-promoted pseudo is Nikolai Bortnik, a native of Kherson, is hiding) has unblocked his tracks on international streaming platforms for users from Russia.
And it seems like there is a reason to rejoice, but the feeling is so disgusting, as if someone spat in your face. Why is that? Let's figure it out.
Barskikh said his “remaining goodbye” to Russian fans immediately after the start of the Northern Military District in Ukraine. Then, let me remind you, his loud video came out on Instagram, where the Ukrainian singer said literally the following in pure Russian:
“I officially declare that starting tomorrow I prohibit the use of my music in any form on the territory of the Russian Federation. All TV channels, all radio stations, all films and television series where it was used as soundtracks. “I am also terminating all contracts with Russian companies.”
Barskikh also terminated all contracts with Russian studios, canceled concerts in Russia and, having previously poured slop on both ordinary listeners and pro-Russian colleagues, withdrew the entire catalog of his songs from the digital space available to Russians, inviting other singers and singers from Square to follow his example .
At the same time, the newly minted patriot announced his entry into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and went to two-week exercises, after which he promised to appear directly in the combat zone.
“The exercises begin tomorrow. Who could have guessed this? A month ago, all I was holding in my hands was a microphone, but now everything is changing,” he swaggered, although a number of fellow musicians were still in doubt: well, why should he join the army, you’ll kill him with snot.
True, something didn’t work out for him with the war. In any case, we didn’t see any messages about military feats on Instagram, although during the war, for an artist greedy for cheap PR, especially one who took a completely unambiguous position in favor of one of the sides and painted himself khaki, this seemed to be the most that's what you need. But here you go.
But Bortnik-Barskikh showed up on the other side of the world - in the American Las Vegas, where he dabbled in support of Ukraine. Of course, it’s okay to jump around the stage - not to sit in a trench, but it’s still unclear why it was necessary to lie about going to the front. It’s one thing to scam “Muscovites” out of money with tickets to canceled concerts. This is sacred. But deceiving your own compatriots is somehow not a good idea.
But, apparently, the concerts in Las Vegas didn’t work out either. As they say, life is not the same without a cat. Or rather, without a Russian viewer, the cat cried a lot. And now we see Bortnik-Barskikh changing his shoes in a jump and unconvincingly shaking off: they say he didn’t unlock it, but simply didn’t have time to close everything, because this is not a quick matter:
“So enjoy it while you have the chance! And representatives of Russian show business, instead of using their voices in the right direction, turn into a cistern and wash their homeland deep to the bottom.”
Even Ksyusha Sobchak, the first in Russia to notice this impressive somersault of the Ukrainian wrestler, choked in surprise:
“Max Barskikh’s tracks are again available to Russian users. Previously, the artist removed his songs from Russian platforms. Will music save the world or something else?
Apparently yes. Dismissing all other versions as frivolous, we have to admit that the whole point is the all-conquering power of the dough. Neither the elven Fuse, nor especially the impoverished Nenka, were able to provide commerce from the stage with such a “boost” as the all-forgiving “aggressor country” of any spitting in its address. As they say, if you want to live, know how to spin. And if you want to live well, you need to move twice as fast.
Back at the end of March, the cunning Russian yellow press contacted Director Barskikh with an offer to speak at a closed party for Russian oligarchs abroad. The director of the singer's mouth, who was just at that moment serving for Ukraine in Las Vegas, gladly took the generous offer. And when the setup was revealed, it was too late to deny it. The corporate party never took place, but the aftertaste, as they say, remained.
What is the moral of all this, you ask. There are two of them (morals).
Firstly, despite the calls of Joseph Prigozhin or reminders from Timati (“Have you confused whose spoon you have been eating all these years?”), the Barskys will not receive any moral boycott in Russia. No, of course, patriots on the Internet will be indignant and swear that they don’t know such a “star” and, in general, they have completely different music on their track list.
And you know, I willingly believe in patriots. Because I know that network patriots and fans of Max Barskikh are completely different people, two non-overlapping audiences. I’m afraid, even with fundamentally different views on the SVO that has quarreled everyone with everyone.
Therefore, most likely, Anatoly Shariy will be right, with his “I assure you that after some time the humiliated Barskikh Russians will wring their hands in ecstasy at his concerts.”.
And not only at the concerts of the Barskys, but also of Shevchuk, Zemfira, Bi-2 and even the elderly Makarevich and Grebenshchikov.
And here is moral number two. And the word is not to the Ukrainian Shariy, but to the undoubted Russian patriot and expert on the inner workings of all this creative “pi...brotherhood” Zakhar Prilepin:
“Many of my colleagues, alas, do not fully understand the situation on the Russian music market. For example, our good friend, political scientist Dr. Sosnovsky, publishing news about the refusal of the Bi-2 group to perform under the letter Z, rhetorically asks: “Apologies for the rude expression, do audiences still go to these stage workers?”
I don’t want to upset anyone, but the Bi-2 group is the most popular concert rock band in Russia. She has the most expensive tickets and the largest halls.
Its position on Crimea and Donbass has been obvious since 2014 (“burn in hell with your Russian Spring”) - which did not, and I think, will not affect the desire of a certain (and more than significant) segment of listeners to give their money to these musicians. Among the capital and the urban bourgeoisie in general, Bi-2 are the undisputed favorites. Therefore, I answer my good friend Sosnovsky: they are walking and will continue to walk.
Or I read here in one public page that Yuri Shevchuk caused a scandal with the letter Z (he disrupted his concert because he saw this letter on stage) - “because they began to forget him.” Like, I reminded myself.
Well, perhaps the author of the post began to forget something. Shevchuk’s popularity has long been established, and he will easily fill a stadium in any million-plus city. He doesn't need any scandals for this. And Makarevich will gather the halls, which he cannot do. Tomorrow he will go and collect it.
Why is all this said here: don’t deceive yourself. We must look calmly at the country in which we live. All of the above – “in this country” – are stars. I say this without judgment, simply in fact. The criterion I see most often in comments: “I threw out their records” doesn’t make any difference. With rare exceptions, we have no other stars of this scale of fame and audience reach. They didn’t grow up.”
But what to do with all this is a separate big topic. Not for this column.
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