Rapper Kanye West’s announcement of two stadium concerts in Russia later this year has sent the local media and political scene into a frenzy -- with President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman even asked on Thursday if a planned meeting was on the cards. U.S. star West, who also goes by the stage name Ye, will perform at the Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg on October 10 and 11 in what will the biggest show by a Western artist since Moscow launched its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022. Most American and European artists have shunned Russia, which was hit by huge sanctions after it launched the war. West has a cult following in Russia and more than 100,000 tickets to the shows have already been sold, Russian media reported citing the concert promoters. In a daily briefing on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked if there were any plans for Putin to meet West. “This is not our area. This is not ‘Mosconcert’”, Peskov told the reporter, referring to a Russian cultural agency. “This is the presidential administration,” he added -- without explicitly ruling out a meeting. Lawmakers and officials have also jumped into the frenzy. While one thanked him for not giving into “anti-Russian hysteria”, MP Nikolai Novichkov has been critical of the rapper’s statements glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. West sparked widespread outrage with comments praising Hitler, a song titled “Heil Hitler” and the sale of T-shirts bearing a swastika on his website. Under Russia’s “law against rehabilitation of Nazism”, Holocaust denial and the spreading of false information about the Third Reich is punishable by years in prison. The law has routinely been used to target critics of the Kremlin. Several countries -- including the United Kingdom, France and Poland -- have this year banned West from performing.
