די מלכּה פֿון דער סאָוועטישער פּאָפּ באַהאַנדלט פּוטין'ס מלחמה אין אוקראַיִנע

Alla Pugacheva, a Russian singer, arrives in Moscow to pay her final respects to Iosif Kobzon (a pro-Kremlin politician and veteran Russian singer), on 2 September, 2018.

Alla Pugacheva, the Soviet pop queen, has condemned President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine. She said that it was killing soldiers for illusory aims and burdening ordinary people, making Russia a global pariah.

Russia has been cracking down on any form of dissent since the 24 February invasion. Fines have been imposed on artists who make antiwar statements. State TV portrays critics as traitors of the motherland.

Pugacheva (73), a Soviet and post-Soviet icon, who is probably Russia’s most famous woman, asked Russia to classify her as a "foreign agents" because her husband Maxim Galkin, 46, was included on the state's 16 September list.

"I ask for you to include me in the ranks of foreign agents in my beloved country, because I am in solidarity my husband," Pugacheva posted on Instagram, which is banned in Russia.

Pugacheva stated that her husband was a patriot and wanted a country of peace, freedom, and prosperity.

Pugacheva stated that Russia was becoming a "pariah", while Russians' lives were being destroyed by the conflict. Although she did not use war, Pugacheva expressed her disapproval for what the Kremlin calls an "special military operation".

אַדווערטייזמאַנט

This kind of sharp criticism, from one of Russia's most well-known people, is rare and dangerous in modern Russia.

It also shows the concern of the wider Russian elite regarding the war.

The first sign that authorities are in trouble is labeling someone "foreign agents". This label is associated with the Soviet era and must be prominently displayed by its bearers on any content they publish. They are also subject to arduous bureaucratic and financial requirements.

In the past, both Boris Yeltsin and Putin have praised Pugacheva. She praised Mikhail Gorbachev for his willingness to allow freedom and rejection of violence when he died.

Putin sees the war in Ukraine now as an attempt to stop Western attempts to destroy Russia. This plot is similar to the Napoleonic invasions in 1812 and 1941.

Ukraine claims it is fighting an Russian imperial-style occupation and will not stop until every soldier has been ejected.

This war has resulted in the deaths of tens and thousands, unleashed inflationary waves through the global economy, and raised geopolitical tensions at levels not seen since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.