Russia considers creating ‘incubator’ for patriotic pop stars

The Russian newspaper Vedomosti reports that officials are creating a “patriotic media holding” to promote the Kremlin’s political ideology through popular music.

Vedomosti says it's acquired a letter written by the head of the controversial charity Federation Fund, Vladimir Kiselyov, and the chairman of Russian Media Group, Olga Plaksina, addressed to Vladimir Putin. In the letter, they propose the creation of a new media holding to promote native Russian pop stars who have “the right ideological orientation.”

The holding would include five Russian radio stations and one music television channel, and its partners would be a handful of other Russian entertainment channels. A source close to the music industry told Vedomosti that the Ministry of Finance might allocate 2 billion rubles ($32.2 million) to this project. The Ministry has not confirmed these claims.

Kiselyov and Plaksina write [in their letter] that a sort of incubator of native Russian superstars should be formed on the basis of Russian Media Group’s television channels and radio stations. Due to the situation in the international arena, one cannot count on foreign stars, and thus there is a need for native Russian stars with the right ideological orientation who could serve as cult figures for millions [of Russians].

In early July, it was reported that the state enterprise called Gosconcert will buy shares from Russian Media Group. Reports state that the shares amount to $120 million.

Gosconcert specializes in organizing concerts and music festivals. It answers to the Russian Ministry of Culture.

Vladimir Kiselyov is a Soviet-era pop star. His charity, Federation Fund, is famous for organizing a series of lavish benefits for children with chronic illnesses. Its 2010 benefit made international headlines when Vladimir Putin attended and sang “Blueberry Hill” to a crowd that included Hollywood stars like Sharon Stone and Kevin Costner (video). In 2011, the fund flew Woody Allen, Dustin Hoffman, Sophia Loren, Francis Ford Coppola, Larry King, and other celebrities to its event. Federation Fund head Vladimir Kiselyov came under criticism for his charity’s spending on galas, and some of the hospitals listed as beneficiaries on the charity’s website say they've never received any funding from this organization.