The concert of the Russian singer Grigory Leps was canceled in Uzbekistan due to his public support for the “special operation” (this is how the authorities and propagandists in the Russian Federation call the war in Ukraine due to censorship). This was announced by the Ministry of Culture of the country, reports the local edition Upl.uz. Previously, Leps' concerts have already been canceled in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan .
In Tashkent, Leps' concert was scheduled for October 23, however, according to the Ministry of Culture, it will not take place "for some technical reasons." The agency promised that people will be refunded all the money for purchased tickets.
Leps himself said in an interview with the Moskva Speaks radio station that his concerts were canceled because of his "position on the NVO", but the actions of the authorities of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan "do not worry" him. The artist claims that only “friendly states” do not prohibit him from entering.
“I live in Russia, I am banned from entering virtually all countries of the world, except for our friendly ones. I am absolutely calm, I am absolutely happy here at home. Music should be outside of politics. Apparently, they are annoyed by my position on the NWO, how I serve my fatherland and do everything to help our guys.
God is with them. History will judge us, and everything else does not bother me at all. We have a lot of work to do, people in our native country welcome us very well, they are glad to see us, which I am also, no doubt, very happy about. If tomorrow I am banned from traveling to everything in the world, I will be proud and happy that I will work only in my own country.
Earlier, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov commented on the decision of Leps to pay 1 million rubles to military personnel for the destruction of the Leopard tank. According to Peskov, the Kremlin positively evaluates when artists reward fighters for achievements during the hostilities.
“You can't help but admire them. We know that a group of artists, including Grigory Leps, really announced their decision and not only announced, but concretely implemented this step.”
Leps' concerts began to be canceled after Nikolai Baskov announced at a party at the SPIEF that he and Leps would pay the Russian military 1 million rubles for each destroyed Leopard tank of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Initially, the initiative was announced by the founder of the Zemlyane group, Vladimir Kiselev, and singer Yuri Antonov joined the artists who supported the action.