Russian rap singer may face problems for criticising Victory Day celebrations

The Investigative Committee of Russia will look into the statements by Russian rap singer Morgenstern (full name Alisher Morgenstern) about Victory Day celebrations.

Veterans of Russia public organisation appealed to the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Investigative Committee after rapper Morgenstern expressed his criticism about the need to celebrate Victory Day in today's Russia. Representatives for the public organisation said that the singer insulted the historical memory of the defenders of the Fatherland who fought and died in the Great Patriotic War.

The Investigative Committee will thus have to find out whether the singer violated the law. Alexander Bastrykin, the chief of the Investigative Committee of Russia, ordered the head of the Moscow department of the committee, Andrei Strizhov, to conduct an investigation into the musician's remarks.

Earlier on October 26, Morgenstern apologised for his words about the senselessness of celebrating Victory Day.

"I want to apologise to everyone who might have been offended by my words about Victory Day. In no way did I belittle the significance of the event, I just honestly admitted that I "don't understand,” and the phrase was taken out of context,” the musician wrote on Instagram.

In his recent interview, the artist expressed his skepticism about the need to "spend millions" to celebrate victory in the war that ended nearly 76 years ago.

"I don't understand at all this Victory Day, which took place 76 years ago. From year to year, millions are spent on this, they celebrate something, they try to [prove] something to everyone — I don't know, maybe these are some kind of tenets? Probably, there is simply nothing else to be proud of. Is it worth remembering every year for almost a century that you had won back then? I don't know really,” the artist said.

The rapper also stressed that he did not underestimate the country's victory in the Great Patriotic War. At the same time, the musician urged to make more victories in information or space technologies and celebrate them too, rather than something that took place more than 70 years ago.