When it comes to the most beloved pop music singer among Russians, everyone will mention Alla Pugacheva. In Japan, she would be the national singer Hibari Misora. When I was young, I studied abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia, and a friend invited me to karaoke. Thinking that I was studying Russian, I mustered up the courage to sing Pugacheva's signature song "A Million Roses," as if I was jumping off the roof of the Hermitage. Even though my pitch and pronunciation were sloppy, the locals cheered, "Zamichatlinyi! (Amazing)!" They were proud that a Russian masterpiece was being sung by foreigners as well.
At the end of March 2024, news spread around the world that Pugacheva may be designated a "foreign agent," which means a de facto spy, by Russian judicial authorities. In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Pugacheva's husband, a popular TV presenter who expressed his opposition to the war, was specified as a foreign agent first. Pugacheva also criticized the invasion of Ukraine and volunteered to be decided as a foreign agent. "My husband wants to see an end to young people dying for illusory purposes," she wrote on social media. Pugacheva is not a so-called anti-establishment singer. In recognition of her many years of achievements, she was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland by Putin in 2014.
It has been about half a year since that news. However, there has been no follow-up report that Pugacheva has been designated as a spy by the Russian government. It is not because Pugacheva has fled to Israel, where her husband is hiding. If a national singer is called a spy, society will be shaken. What the government fears most is "A Million Roses." A Million Roses, which sings of love and devotion to a lover, is a fitting anti-war symbol that recalls the young people who were sent to the battlefields of Ukraine. Flowers have always been a symbol of nonviolent resistance. In 2003, Georgia's first political upheaval, which led to the country's seceding from Putin's Russia, was called the bloodless "Rose Revolution."
The model for the lyrics of this song was Niko Pirosmani, a painter born in 19th century Georgia under the oppressive rule of the Russian Empire. Legend has it that Pirosmani, who fell in love with actress Margarita, covered the outside of her house's windows with roses. I saw Pirosmani's work when I went to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. I was captivated not only by the portrait of his lover Margarita, but also by a painting that imagined the Russo-Japanese War in the early 20th century. It was created at the request of a Russian veteran of that time, and it looks like a Russian fleet is on fire in a naval battle. A museum employee said, "He must have been secretly rejoicing at Russia's defeat."
Pirosmani, who lived a wandering life, now attracts many people with his simple and free-spirited style of painting. It was also because he was a passionate person who sacrificed himself for the things he loved. What about Pugacheva, the singer who swept through Russia and captivated the world with her songs? She does not hate Russia. Following her love for her spouse and her own conscience, she criticizes Russian politics at the risk of her life, without fear of the Putin regime's oppression. Love for one's country is different from a loyalty to wrong politics and politicians. Pugacheva taught us the courage to show it in action, without confusing the two. It was only by showing the spirit of her songs through her way of life that Pugacheva become a truly national singer.