November 10, 2023

A New Farewell to a Million Scarlet Roses


A New Farewell to a Million Scarlet Roses
Singer Alla Pugacheva and Comedian Maksim Galkin in Sigulda, Latvia. Maksim Galkin, Instagram.

On November 5, comedian Maksim Galkin posted a picture taken in Latvia with his wife, the über-popular singer Alla Pugacheva, seemingly confirming that the power couple had moved to the Baltic country.

Pugacheva and Galkin left Russia for Israel after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but she returned alone to Russia after October's escalating violence in the Middle East.

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, the "Million Scarlet Roses" performer's husband was declared a "foreign agent" for his criticism of the Russian government. At the time, Pugacheva publically supported her spouse and asked the government the include her "in the ranks of foreign agents of her beloved country." Since Galkin is eligible for Israeli citizenship, the couple fled to Israel. 

Rumors swirled that the couple had left Israel after October's escalating violence, when a man who looked like Galkin was spotted at Tel Aviv airport. But the comedian posted videos of his and Pugacheva's children in a bomb shelter. The singer was nowhere to be seen in the recordings.

On November 2, Kommersant reported that Pugacheva entered Russia through the Pskov border crossing by train. The newspaper alleged she was in Russia to resolve undisclosed legal matters. On November 5, she was confirmed to be in Latvia with her husband.

Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov commented on Pugacheva's return, saying, "respectful and law-abiding [Russian citizens] can freely return to their homeland and just as freely leave it."

State Duma Deputy for Sevastopol Dmitry Belik has called for all Russians abroad who criticize the government and war in Ukraine to be stripped of their citizenship.

You Might Also Like

Mosque Raid Leads to Star's Enlistment
  • October 24, 2023

Mosque Raid Leads to Star's Enlistment

The Russian National Guard raided a mosque, forcing worshipers to enlist in the army. A finalist in a musical reality show was among the draftees.
Integration through Education?
  • October 08, 2023

Integration through Education?

Russian President Putin stressed the importance of education in regions newly annexed from Ukraine. But is there a more sinister motive at play?
One Country, Two Wars
  • September 16, 2023

One Country, Two Wars

The Kremlin is currently conducting not one, but two horrific wars.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955