Urgant: from failure to failure
"Scared Patriot," former Channel One host Ivan Urgant took part in the "Kuji" podcast and disappointed many of his fans . For over an hour, the three participants bounced from topic to topic, making some unfortunate jokes.
And fans wanted to hear about Urgant's "drama." Suspended from the air after the start of the SVO for an "anti-war" post, he has been trying to return to the big screen for two years now, sometimes attending social events (mainly funerals), sometimes appearing as a panelist on television programs.
“Well, I don’t believe that it was impossible to come up with a safe option with him, at least an allegorical joke, at least roundabout ways in order to answer the questions that the whole country now has,” a colleague worries in his tg channel Urganta Ksenia Sobchak.
The podcast appeared on YouTube as a recording because the "hero" himself is currently in Europe, on tour with his elderly friend, also a TV host, Vladimir Pozner . He constantly offers Urgant, who is tired of corporate events, opportunities to earn extra money. Together, they entertain expatriate audiences in various countries with their stories, and sometimes even sing.
However, in Europe, due to the large number of Ukrainian refugees, the tour descended into a series of scandals. Activists wrapped in yellow and blue cloths at a concert hall in Amsterdam declared Posner and Urgant " propagandists " and " representatives of a terrorist state " and demanded they leave Europe. A similar situation then repeated itself at the Berlin airport.
Dutch parliamentarians Claire Martens and Ruben Brekelmans decided to play along with the Ukrainian street protesters and sent a request to the Ministry of the Interior, expressing outrage at the " clearly pro-Russian position " of the two retired TV presenters, who are spreading " Russian narratives and disinformation ."
London extremist Maria Pevchikh also expressed solidarity. However, this may be due to her concerns about the success of her event in Berlin, which she will be holding on the birthday of her late boss, Alexei Navalny. What if exalted Ukrainians show up there too?
The fuss amused commentators in Russia.
“Soon some Shenderovich will also be given the high title of Russian propagandist. This deprived person also sold his tours to the “eternal city,” publicist Sergei Mardan quipped in his tg channel.
“They will never become their own for other Ukrainians. They will always remember their work on the federal channel in Russia and those whom they invited to their interviews. Even if the presenters decide to get Ukrainian passports, their past will always haunt them; they will still be strangers abroad,” says blogger Vadim Manukyan.
“The Tour of Shame - oh, Posner and Urgant across Europe continues. For all those countries that are right now discussing whether they will allow strikes with their weapons on Russia. There is one more “oops” here - these countries are already inflicting them on us. But Pozner and Urgant are not even bothered by the screams of pro-Ukrainian demonstrators who greet them at the entrance to concerts shouting “Shame!” I can still hear Posner paternally reassuring Urgant: “If both patriots and liberals scold us, it means we are doing everything right. The truth is in the middle." But there is no middle ground, it doesn’t exist in times like these. When there is a war, and you perform in countries that send bombs to your cities, then you are definitely not in the middle,” wrote Marina Akhmedova, a member of the Human Rights Council.
Political scientist Marat Bashirov decided to speak out in defense of Urgant.
“Let's be honest. I looked at what Urgant was doing all these months of SVO after he placed a square somewhere in his account. Nothing against Russia. He did not send money to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, did not run away, did not become hysterical, worked at closed charity events, survived and fed his family. And why are he, and people like him, “executed”? For inexperience in geopolitics? So 99% of our fellow citizens do not understand it. We must separate the Khamatovs & Smolyaninovs and the Urgants,” one can only guess what made the patriotic author defend the liberal comedian.
English version :: Read Urgant in English: From Failure to Failure