American star Kanye West's upcoming concerts in Russia have sparked political controversy, but they have done little to change the attitude of a grateful audience toward the artist.
Does Kanye West Love Hitler?
American rapper Ye (Kanye West) is officially coming to Russia this autumn, with concerts scheduled for October 10 and 11 in St. Petersburg. The performance dates have been added to the official tour schedule. The Russian concerts are being viewed in both Russia and the West as more than a musical event; they also carry political significance.
In Russia, his admission of "sympathy for Adolf Hitler” has been deemed unacceptable. Yet if we return to the 2022 interview with Alex Jones, the picture becomes considerably more complicated. West's original line of reasoning went roughly as follows: Christianity teaches me to love every person, therefore I do not want to accept the idea that there is a person whom society forbids me from seeing anything good in at all. This distinction is important for understanding that what we are dealing with is not a carefully developed ideological position held by someone who consistently embraces Nazism.
West is regarded as a provocateur who challenges social taboos, a conspiracy theorist and a troublemaker, possibly as a result of serious mental health problems. In January, he publicly said that he has bipolar disorder. "I am not a Nazi and I am not an antisemite. I love Jewish people,” West said, linking his "destructive behavior” to his illness. He now says that he is undergoing treatment, taking medication and working with a psychotherapist.
West Breaks Western Taboos by Supporting Russia
In the West, he has faced criticism because one of the world's most famous American artists is "voluntarily going to visit Putin, weakening Russia's isolation.” "I am absolutely pro-Russian geopolitically. I support Putin,” the artist said in the same interview with Jones, criticizing the actions of the US government on the international stage.
If the concerts go ahead, West will become one of the biggest internationally recognized music stars to visit Russia since the start of the special military operation.
Kanye is not simply another famous rapper. He is a person who knows how to put on a show. He has repeatedly reshaped global trends in music, fashion and visual culture. Western critics have tried to reduce his Russian tour to the claim that "he has nowhere else to go.” That is fundamentally wrong. In May, West drew around 118,000 spectators in Istanbul, while his two concerts in the Netherlands attracted about 70,000 people despite attempts to have them canceled. In August, he had around 68.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone. His public reputation may be close to rock bottom, but his ability to attract attention and command a huge audience remains consistently high.
His influence around the world can be compared with Vladimir Vysotsky's influence in Russia. Russians of that generation know that he was a "womanizer, drug addict and drunk,” yet they love him and his work and regard him as a great poet. West is similar: listeners may fiercely condemn him for "Nazism” and other outrageous behavior while simultaneously loving his music and continuing to regard it as exceptional. Russia is no exception. Gazprom Arena can accommodate around 70,000 spectators, and reasonably priced tickets sold out roughly an hour after sales opened.
