Main points
- Maxim Galkin, the host of a wedding in Cannes, performed a Ukrainian-language song, which sparked discussion on social media.
- Although Galkin condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he has been criticized for previous actions, including a visit to Crimea in 2014 and jokes about Ukrainians.
Maxim Galkin / Photo from the showman's Instagram
After the wedding of Ukrainian model Nika Kuznetsova and Georgian businessman Nika Lomia in Cannes, the social network Threads is actively discussing Russian showman Maxim Galkin. The fact is that he was the host of the celebration, where he performed Ivo Bobul's Ukrainian-language song “Conversation with You.”
Some Ukrainians began to admire the fact that the Russian had learned our language, in particular, the famous psychologist and blogger Natalia Kholodenko. She recently met Galkin and stated that they communicated in Ukrainian. However, the showman's position is not so pro-Ukrainian. Read more about this in the material of Channel 24 .
What's wrong with Maxim Galkin's position?
Maxim Galkin condemned Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Due to the showman's “anti-war” stance, in September 2022 the Russian Ministry of Justice added him to the list of “foreign agents.”
However, we should not forget that the Russian-Ukrainian war began in 2014, when Russia occupied Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and Galkin, together with his wife and children, left his homeland only in 2022.
Until February 24, 2022, the showman did not condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine. He allowed himself to make humiliating jokes about Ukrainians and even visited Russian-occupied Crimea: on June 12, 2014, Galkin and singer Pelageya hosted a concert in Crimea dedicated to Russia Day.
They say that Crimea is Russia in miniature. Here, different nationalities have lived in peace and harmony since time immemorial, respecting and understanding each other,
– said the showman from the stage.
Maxim Galkin at the Russia Day concert in Yalta, June 12, 2014 / Screenshot from the video
Thus, in November 2021, Maxim Galkin was included in the list of persons who pose a threat to the national security of Ukraine. However, in June 2022, the showman was removed from the “black list.”
By the way, last year, in a major interview with Russian journalist Ekaterina Gordeeva, Alla Pugacheva, who is Galkin's wife, repeated the propaganda narrative about a war between “fraternal peoples”, admitted that she once campaigned and voted for Vladimir Putin, and stated that her homeland “suffered greatly from the war”. Moreover, at the end of the conversation, the singer said that she “loved Russia with all her heart and still does.”
What is known about the high-profile wedding in Cannes?
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A Ukrainian model and a Georgian businessman celebrated their wedding at the Château de la Croix des Gardes overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Valery Meladze, who remains silent about the war, and Ricky Martin performed at the event.
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Among the guests was Ukrainian blogger Oleksandr Slobozhenko, who fled abroad during the war and was arrested in absentia in September 2024 for tax evasion.
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Nika Kuznetsova's fiancée is originally from Kharkiv. At one time, the girl participated in the beauty contest “Miss Ukraine”. She married her chosen one in Monaco in December 2025.
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The husband of Ukrainian woman Nika Lomia is a co-founder of the international company Spribe.
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According to Slobozhenko, the luxurious wedding cost the couple approximately $5 million.