(ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA) – Russian state media and officials have celebrated American rapper Kanye West’s concert in St Petersburg as a major cultural victory and proof that the country is not isolated from the West. The enthusiasm, however, stands in stark contrast to the Kremlin’s official justification for its war in Ukraine: the alleged need to “denazify” its neighbour.
Ye, as the artist now calls himself, has repeatedly made pro-Nazi and pro-Hitler statements in recent years. He has publicly professed admiration for Adolf Hitler, released music featuring Nazi slogans, and performed Nazi salutes during live broadcasts. He has also sold merchandise bearing swastika imagery. The rapper later attributed his behaviour to brain injury and bipolar disorder.
Russian media outlets have nonetheless described the St Petersburg appearance as a world-class event and a definitive victory over international isolation. Reports indicate that Russian fans have purchased VIP tickets costing thousands of dollars, with some reportedly taking on debt to attend the concert. This celebration occurs while the same Russian public broadly supports missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, justified by the Kremlin’s claim that Ukraine must be denazified.
The contradiction extends beyond Ye’s visit. Openly neo-Nazi military units operate within Russia itself, including the paramilitary group Task Force Rusich, which has been linked to atrocities in Ukraine. The Kremlin has never launched a campaign to denazify its own territory.
Western artists have largely avoided Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. The exceptions have included figures with criminal records, such as Tim Lambesis, frontman of the metalcore band As I Lay Dying. In 2013, Lambesis attempted to hire a hitman to murder his wife. The hitman was an undercover police officer, and Lambesis served a prison sentence. After his release, he was recorded abusing his new wife and kicking a dog. He announced concerts in Russia in 2025.
The Russian propaganda apparatus has also been active in attempting to drive a wedge between Ukraine and Poland. A wave of staged videos has appeared online purportedly showing Ukrainians destroying Polish flags. In the videos, actors hide their faces from the camera and theatrically tear up and trample pieces of ordinary office paper coloured white and red. The videos circulate exclusively within Russian Telegram networks and on platforms controlled by Russian intelligence agencies, targeting primarily domestic audiences.
This approach follows a pattern established during the Cold War. Russia seeks out useful idiots in Western countries, nurtures their grievances, and encourages them to support Moscow-friendly political candidates. Some individuals are paid directly, while others drift into what analysts describe as an inverted worldview where Ukraine, a nation defending itself against invasion, is portrayed as the aggressor.
The Kremlin’s embrace of Ye ultimately exposes the hollowness of its ideological claims. The rhetoric about fighting fascism evaporates when a Western star with a significant fee and a documented history of pro-Nazi statements appears on the horizon. The only consistent thread is the Russian government’s willingness to celebrate any Western figure, regardless of reputation, who agrees to perform on Russian soil.
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