Influential Russians asked Putin to "rehabilitate" Ivan Urgant. He refused
Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to return TV presenter Ivan Urgant to the public space, when prominent Russians asked him to do so. The New York Times wrote about this in a large publication about Urgant, writes "Meduza".
Ivan Urgant. Photo: urgantcom / Instagram
According to sources of the publication, influential Russians directly appealed to Putin with a request to "rehabilitate Urgant," who disappeared from Russian television after he spoke out against Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Sources claim that Putin reacted "sharply" to such requests. Sometimes the Russian president referred to information that Urgant was not loyal. It is believed that Putin received such information from Russian special services, which regularly prepare reports or dossiers on cultural figures in Russia, notes NYT.
Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, told RBC that he "knows nothing about this."
Ivan Urgant did not respond to journalists' request for comment.
After the start of the war, Ivan Urgant published a black square on Instagram with the words "Fear and pain. NO TO WAR." After this, his television show "Evening Urgant" disappeared from the air of Channel One. The show's cancellation was not officially announced.
Urgant continues to live in Russia. As the publication writes, he works at birthday parties and weddings. He also performs abroad.
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