Russia-friendly Kazakhstan cancels concert of pro-Ukraine war singer Grigory Leps
- The decision to scrap the show came a few days after Leps promised to do everything possible to help Russia’s military
- His manager minimised the cancellation, saying ‘we can do without Kazakhstan’
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The ex-Soviet republic retains close ties with Moscow but tries to maintain diplomatic neutrality on Ukraine in an effort to keep good ties with both Russia and the West.
“Kazakhs are speaking out on social media against Russian singer Grigory Leps, who supports the Russian occupation of Ukraine. The group organising the concert decided to cancel it,” said officials from the southeastern Almaty region.
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The decision to cancel came a few days after Leps promised to do everything possible to help Russia’s military.
“We’ll do everything we can for our military, whether that’s singing or financially supporting our soldiers,” he said during a forum in Saint Petersburg in mid-June, according to local media reports.
He also supported another artist’s proposal to give a million roubles (US$12,000) for every Ukrainian tank destroyed in the conflict.
Vladimir Yuriupin, Leps’ manager, minimised the cancellation.
“It’s not a big deal. We can do without Kazakhstan. We support our country and will continue to do so,” he said on Russian news website Gazeta.ru.
