State Duma Deputy Complains About Shaman's "Fabulous" Fee

The chair of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of the Family, Nina Ostanina, criticized the Orenburg Region authorities for "inappropriate spending" on organizing the performance of the singer Shaman on Orenburg City Day. The regional government responded that the concert could not be cancelled, since Shaman had already received 16 million rubles for it.

"It has become known that Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov, better known as Shaman, was invited to perform on City Day. 16 million rubles have been allocated from the Orenburg city budget to pay the artist's fee. While the region has not yet recovered from the consequences of the devastating flood, not all affected residents have yet received compensation for lost housing and property, and the destroyed infrastructure has not been restored," Ostanina said in a letter to the region's governor Denis Pasler, which was published by the RTV channel.

The State Duma deputy also draws the attention of the head of the Orenburg region to the fact that local residents are outraged by the "fabulous size of the singer's fee." Ostanina advised Pasler to sort out the situation and attract sponsors for such performances in the future.

“The financing of such events from the city budget during the period of the SVO and the election campaign for the election of the governor of the Orenburg region looks especially dubious and cynical,” she continued.

In turn, the Orenburg regional government told the Pod'em publication that the Orenburg authorities were organizing Shaman's concert, and added that the artist had already received his fee and it would not be possible to get it back even if the performance was cancelled.

"As far as we know, when discussing the concept of the holiday in the spring, the organizing committee definitely voted for the artist Yaroslav Dronov, who performs a patriotic repertoire and is popular with young and mature Orenburg residents. The cancellation of the concert will not entail a refund. That is, it turns out that both the money is lost and the holiday is ruined," the publication quotes an unnamed representative of the regional government. Shaman is scheduled to perform in Orenburg on August 30.

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