Russian pop superstar reveals she is in Israel after criticising Ukraine war

Former Kremlin sweetheart thanks fans for ‘love and support’ after leaving Russia

Legendary Russian pop star Alla Pugacheva has revealed she is in Israel, three weeks after asking the Kremlin to declare her a “foreign agent” due to her public opposition to the war in Ukraine.

The queen of Soviet pop music, possibly Russia’s most famous woman, denounced Vladimir Putin’s invasion for turning Russia into a global pariah.

In an Instagram post on 18 September, the 73-year-old said the war was killing soldiers for illusory aims and burdening ordinary people.

She urged the Russian government to deem her a “foreign agent” after her husband, entertainer Maxim Galkin, was given the label for his statements against the war.

Writing on Instagram on Monday, she thanked her millions of fans “for their love and support, for the ability to distinguish truth from lies”.

“From the Holy Land, I pray for you and for peace,” she said. “I am happy!”

Ms Pugacheva is known across Russian generations for hits such as the 1982 song Million Scarlet Roses and the 1978 film The Woman who Sings.

Pugacheva shared photo from Israel with her millions of followers (Instagram)

She was an unlikely figure to strike out against the Kremlin, having in the past been feted by both Mr Putin and his predecessor as president, Boris Yeltsin.

When Mikhail Gorbachev died in August, she praised the last Soviet leader for allowing freedom and rejecting violence.

“I think this is her first ever strong political statement and this in itself, of course, is quite shocking for the people in Russia. I think she’s not the only one who may turn the public opinion,” the BBC quoted Artemy Troitsky, a Russian journalist and music critic who left the country in 2014, as saying in September.

Local Russian media reported she left the country in February this year after the invasion began and returned in September for the funeral of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.