Russian show stars promise: for every leopard shot there is 1 million rubles Pressure on Kosovo: why the EU and the US support Serbian president Vucic

There were fresh oysters on ice and champagne flowing freely. The gossip reporter present noted that it is fashionable again for women to show themselves with Dior bags. Selfies were taken with “brand new” iPhones. The gala party of the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg on Wednesday night did not shy away from decadent comparisons with similar hipster events in London or New York.

Except that the ‘special operation’, which was often suppressed in the posh Russian circles, suddenly took center stage. “Unexpectedly”, reports the local medium “fontanka.ru”, the tables were pushed together for an impromptu media conference. Russian singing stars Nikolai Baskov, Grigori Leps and Jelena Sewer, among others, took their places.

The culture celebrities quickly got to the point: for every Leopard 1 or Leopard 2 tank destroyed by Russian forces in Ukraine, they promised to collect a bonus of one million rubles. This corresponds to approximately 10,700 francs.

“We’re not doing this out of sheer civic duty,” pop singer Beskow said, “We’re doing this because we want them to know we’re on their side if they win.” Singer and TV presenter Sewer added that this campaign should lead to a better perception of “what is happening in our difficult time, when people are dying for our fatherland”.

According to the media report, the public rewarded the announcement with thunderous applause. The idea for this action came from the media mogul Waldimir Kiselev, the husband of Jelena Sewer, it was said. While he couldn’t condemn any fellow artist who didn’t take part in their campaign, chansonnier Leps generously admitted that “it’s everyone’s private matter”. But there was still a strong dig among the Russian artists in exile.

Tank kill bonuses by official decree

The large number of cultural workers who have since emigrated from Russia is a “clear failure in cultural management,” said Kiselyov, the majority shareholder of the multibillion-dollar media group RMG (Russia Media Group). He also specified that the kill bonus will be administered in conjunction with the Department of Defense and will also apply to damaged Abrams and Leopard tanks.

Meanwhile, it is almost de rigueur in Russian society to bestow such rewards – which only proves the great fear of Western tanks. Actor Ivan Okhlobystin and former Olympic wrestling champion Alexander Karelin have already done so.

At the beginning of the year, the governor of the Trans-Baikal region, Aleksander Osipov, even signed an official decree that provided 3 million rubles for the capture of a ready-to-operate Leopard tank and 1.5 million rubles for an intact Abrams tank . After all, there is another million rubles for the Leopard and 500,000 rubles for the Abrams for their destruction.

It is not known whether such bonuses have actually already been paid to Russian military personnel. Photographs from the early days of the Ukrainian counter-offensive showed several Leopard tanks stranded in a minefield. The Internet portal «Oryx», which specializes in weapons losses, lists four destroyed or abandoned Ukrainian Leopard-2s.

However, the generous artists did not receive unqualified approval; not even in the heavily controlled Russian media. In the comments column of «fontanka.ru», user Sergej grumbles: «These artists live exclusively on state subsidies. Now if you donate for wrecked tanks, you’re doing it with our tax money – fie!” Another user simply judged: “cynical hypocrites.”