Maxim Galkin

Biography

He first became famous as an impersonator and is known for his talent at parody and his duets with the famous Russian pop singer Alla Pugacheva and Ani Lorak.

Galkin was the host of the Russian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from 2001 to 2008.

In 2010, Galkin was one of the few comedians performing an impression, albeit 'light-hearted', of President Vladimir Putin, on Russia's Channel One TV channel.

On New Year's Eve in 2013, Galkin and the then popular Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy performed together in a traditional New Year's program called “Little Blue Light” on the Russia-1 TV channel. Russian TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, who later became a leading Kremlin propagandist, also appeared on the show as one of the presenters and danced in the audience during Galkin and Zelenskyy's performance.

After November 2016, he hosted a children's, talent show on TV "Best of all" and did so at least until mid-2017.

Personal life

Galkin is Jewish, from his mother's side.

Since 2001, Galkin has been romantically involved with Soviet and Russian singer Alla Pugacheva. On 24 December 2011, the couple married, despite the significant age gap. On 18 September 2013 Galkin and Pugacheva became the biological parents of twins via a surrogate mother – Elizaveta and Harry. In 2022, Galkin and Pugacheva fled to Israel. In August 2022, Russian media reports suggested that his wife and children may have returned to Russia, and in September 2022, Russia listed him as a foreign agent. Since then, every post he uploads on Instagram has a 24-word disclaimer stating that he is a foreign agent. Russian media also puts an asterisk to his name stating that he is a foreign agent. In January 2024, Galkin was denied entry to Bali, Indonesia, at the request of the Russian government. Galkin's performances were also canceled in Thailand and Kazakhstan. As of 2024, Pugacheva resided in Cyprus.

Political views

Galkin has been openly critical about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He accused the Russian authorities of hypocrisy and lies with respect to war crimes that Russia has committed in firing rockets at the Ukrainian city of Odesa, its siege and destruction of Mariupol and its atrocities in Bucha.

He spoke up negatively about the Russian gay propaganda law, comparing it to a 'witch-hunt', which is created only for political PR and public distraction from more important issues. However, he does not deem it necessary to legalize same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption because it can provoke a negative reaction in society.

Awards

• Medal "For Faith and Goodness" of Kemerovo Oblast (2004)
• Order of Friendship (2006)
• Order of Honor of Kuzbass (2013)

References

References

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4. (6 January 2023). "Russian State TV's New Year Broadcast Was Dystopian As Hell". [[Vice Media.
5. (3 January 2023). "Zelensky celebrated New Year's Eve with Putin's top propagandist". Switzerland Times.
6. link
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8. (26 December 2011). "News article in Russian". Mail.ru.
9. (24 March 2022). "Russian Megastars Alla Pugacheva, Maxim Galkin Flee to Israel".
10. (1 February 2024). "Russia is intimidating its expat celebrities in an attempt to silence them". The Times of Israel.
11. Philissa Cramer. (19 September 2022). "Iconic Russian singer condemns war on Ukraine after Jewish husband declared 'foreign agent'". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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13. (12 November 2023). "Максим Галкин* совсем сдал: Срывы на концертах продолжаются".
14. (7 July 2023). "Гастроли по латышским сёлам: Пугачёва и Галкин* покидают Израиль и едут в Юрмалу".
15. СУХАНОВА, Ирина. (24 October 2023). "Как выглядят роскошные апартаменты Пугачевой и Галкина* на Кипре". kp.ru -.
16. (27 January 2024). "Russian comedian declared ‘foreign agent’ says denied entry to Indonesia per Russia’s request". [[Meduza]].
17. (29 March 2024). "Queen of Soviet pop Pugacheva likely to be labelled a ‘foreign agent’ in Russia". Cyprus Mail.
18. "Kremlin Threatens Russian Star Comedian Who Fled to Israel". Haaretz.com.
19. ntv.ru. "Галкин защитил геев от "охоты на ведьм"".
20. "GAY.RU - Максим Галкин поддержал супругу: "Усыновление детей геями я принять не могу..."".
21. "Galkin Maksim, photo, biography".