Russian rapper Morgenshtern apologizes for criticizing Russia’s Victory Day celebrations

Russian rapper Morgenshtern has apologized for the critical comments he made about Russia’s Victory Day celebrations during a recent interview with television host Ksenia Sobchak.

In the interview, which was released on Sobchak’s YouTube channel on Monday, October 25, Morgenshtern criticized the fact Russia spends “millions” on its Victory Day celebrations every year.

The rapper’s comments provoked backlash from the Veterans of Russia movement, which announced its intention to file a complaint against Morgenshtern with Russia’s Attorney General’s Office and Investigative Committee.

In an Instagram story posted on Tuesday, Morgenshtern said that he “honestly acknowledged” that he doesn’t understand Victory Day and claimed that his comments about the celebration were “taken out of context” and weren’t published in full. “I want to apologize to everyone who was hurt by my words about Victory Day,” the rapper wrote.

“The media, as always, twists my words for its dirty purposes. Of course, no one wrote about the fact that I wish my country new victories in technology and space exploration. And the fact that in my opinion, veterans should be allocated extra money, wasn’t even included in the interview. I respect and am proud of veterans but, unfortunately, I didn’t formulate my thoughts correctly. And, even more so, I didn’t want to somehow offend or insult anyone.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also commented on Morgenshtern’s statements on Tuesday, saying that the rapper should be held morally responsible for what he said about Victory Day. At the same time, Peskov suggested that Morgenshtern’s criticism was “not out of malice, but out of ignorance” and advised him to discuss the importance of Victory Day with World War II veterans.

Update. On Tuesday evening, TASS reported that Veterans of Russia had filed complaints against Morgenshtern with the Investigative Committee, the Attorney General’s Office, and the federal censor (Roskomnadzor). In turn, Investigative Committee Chief Alexander Bastrykin instructed the head of the agency’s Main Investigation Department in Moscow to look into the rapper’s statements.