Kanye West, the controversial hip-hop artist, fashion designer and instigator of outrage, now known as Ye, has had two sold-out shows in Russia canceled — a striking development in a country that has cast itself as immune to Western-style cancel culture.
Ye was booked in October for two nights at St. Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena, which seats about 80,000.
But with Russia fighting a war in Ukraine that President Vladimir Putin repeatedly describes as a fight against Nazism, Ye’s reputation for making antisemitic statements presented a problem.
The venue this week said no contract had been signed with the promoter and the shows would not take place there, despite the big ticket sales.
The cancellation, which Ye has not yet confirmed, highlights a tension between Russians who want to feel part of an international community and those who insist on rejecting anything or anyone contradicting the Kremlin-cultivated image of an ultrapatriotic nation skeptical of the West.
The shows, planned for Oct. 10 and 11, would have marked the biggest performances in Russia by an international star since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, A-listers have shunned the country and Moscow has faced heavy sanctions, including by the United States.
Initially Gazprom Arena publicized the shows, calling Ye “the most influential musical artist of our time.”
“This is no joke!” read an Instagram post, which is still up.
But just a week later, the venue abruptly reversed course. The promoter, Say Agency, contested this version of events and said it was working on salvaging Ye’s shows in Russia.
Ye has faced entry bans and concert cancellations across Europe since 2023 over his antisemitic remarks and praise of Adolf Hitler. On May 8, 2025 — the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II — he released a track titled “Heil Hitler.”
In January, Ye said he deeply regretted his past comments, which he attributed to untreated bipolar disorder. He performed this spring in several major U.S. cities for the first time in years, but shows in Poland, Britain, France and Italy were called off.
Some critics expressed skepticism about his apology, which coincided with the release of a new album, “Bully,” and the start of his world tour.
Ye, nonetheless, has attracted thousands-strong crowds across Eastern Europe as well as in western and Central Asia, recently drawing about 118,000 fans in Turkey and performing for 31,000 in Kazakhstan, nearly 8,000 of whom flocked in from other countries, organizers said.
Albania authorized $4.9 million from state reserves to help bankroll a July performance by Ye in Tirana, which Prime Minister Edi Rama billed as an investment in the economy.
The move was blasted by critics who alleged that it was a ploy to distract from weeks-long anti-corruption protests focused on a luxury resort linked to Jared Kushner, and on wider issues related to development in protected lands.
Russia was next on the list of countries to potentially welcome Ye, and the announcement of the two shows quickly caused a stir. Within a few days most tickets had sold out, including VIP seats going for $1,900, according to the official retailer, with only a few pricier seats, between $350 and $600, still available.
The concert, however, posed a dilemma for the Russian authorities.
On the one hand, Ye’s appearance in St. Petersburg, Putin’s hometown, after four years of isolation over the war in Ukraine would serve the Russian leader’s long-standing effort to show Russians that their country is not a pariah.
On the other hand, the main reason Ye has been ostracized in the West does not fit well with Russia’s narrative against Ukraine, which Moscow derides as “a neo-Nazi state.”
Some fans who rushed to buy tickets posted in online discussions that they were happy to have a global star visit Russia, regardless of his views.
“Most people are tired of bans, but this feels like a breath of fresh air — people want to enjoy culture,” one commenter wrote online as tickets went on sale.
Others took offense at even the possibility of a Ye concert in St. Petersburg, formerly called Leningrad, which endured a brutal 872-day blockade by German forces during World War II that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths.
The potential concert even divided officials loyal to the Kremlin. Some immediately called for a ban, while others urged authorities to steer clear given the general mood in the country following widespread internet bans this year and the relentless Ukrainian drone campaign that has caused fuel shortages and demolished warehouses in Russia.
The head of Russia’s Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, called Ye “a very talented person in his own right” and said she would “gladly go” to his show.
Pamfilova later said she was unaware of his antisemitic remarks.
A Russian pop star, Sergei Lazarev, said the more chances Russians have to see different artists, the better.
Vladislav Davankov, vice chair of the lower house of the parliament, has spoken out against banning the concert, saying that although he himself is not a fan, the audience should have the right decide for themselves. Ye’s controversies, he pointed out, were not a matter of national security.
Davankov’s statement was prompted by a proposal from civic activist Vitaly Borodin, who denounced the proposed concerts as a “slap in the face to our society.”
That sentiment was echoed by the ultraconservative Chirstian Orthodox movement Sorok Sorokov, which has a long-standing feud with Ye. When rumors swirled about a potential show during the musician’s short visit to Moscow in 2024 to attend the birthday party of a fashion designer, the movement called for Ye to be investigated for extremism, drug promotion and discrediting the Russian army.
The movement faulted Ye’s track “Vultures,” which describes a “Russian” woman who uses drugs and with whom the lyrical protagonist has rough sex “for Ukraine.”
The group complained then that Ye’s work displays a “direct, disdainful and offensive attitude toward Russian women or the image of the Russian woman,” and that such material is “unacceptable” on any stage in Russia.
Russian media speculated that the venue had been pressured to cancel the shows “following a call from Moscow.” Yekaterina Mizulina, a prominent pro-Kremlin internet censorship activist known for writing official denunciations urging authorities to ban things, reposted the news of the cancellation with the caption “I serve Russia.”
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