On February 22nd, 2023 the Austrian music magazine Opern.News published an investigation into the connections of opera bass Ildar Abdrazakov to the Putin regime, and his participation in Kremlin propaganda activities: https://opern.news/news/beitrag/419

Italian translation available here:https://opern.news/news/beitrag/423

On the same day, this story was reprinted by the American music magazine OperaWire: https://operawire.com/ildar-abdrazakov-allegedly-close-to-putin/

On February 23rd, 2023 OperaWire magazine cited Abdrazakov’s assertion that he himself paused his collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera out of solidarity with Anna Netrebko and Hibla Girzmava, who were both fired from the Metropolitan Opera because of their close ties to Putin. In an interview with a Russian newspaper, Abrazakov stated “people of art should remain neutral, thereby continuing to unite peoples and countries with their art.”: https://operawire.com/ildar-abdrazakov-pauses-relationship-with-metropolitan-opera/

On February 25th, 2023 in an interview with the Associated Press, Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb commented on Abdrazakov’s dismissal from the Met and his claims of remaining “neutral” by stating, “I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror knowing that a Putin supporter is on our stage.”: https://operawire.com/peter-gelb-responds-to-ildar-abdrazakovs-metropolitan-opera-comments/

On February 26th, 2023 the Austrian magazine Opern.Newspublished additional findings of their investigation into Abdrazakov’s connections with the Putin regime, revealing that Abdrazakov received an exorbitant $50,000 US from the Russian state budget for performing two love songs for less than ten minutes total at a Kremlin propaganda event on Red Square. The magazine also reported that the singer unexpectedly canceled a scheduled performance at La Scala in Italy, citing family reasons. But at that time, the singer was still scheduled to perform in Boston, Chicago and New York.:https://opern.news/news/beitrag/422

Italian translation available here:https://opern.news/news/beitrag/427

On February 27th, 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty’s Russian Service reported on the investigations conducted into Abdrazakov’s Kremlin ties by Opern.News, and revealed that activists from Arts Against Aggression demanded the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) follow the examples set by the Metropolitan Opera and La Scala Theater by replacing Abdrazakov in his Boston, Chicago, and New York productions.: https://www.svoboda.org/amp/podderzhivavshiy-putina-pevets-abdrazakov-ne-budet-petj-v-la-skala/32289696.html

On March 1st, 2023 the British music magazine Slipped Diskwrote about the moral dilemma facing the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Hall, where the singer who “declared his loyalty to Putin’s war machine” was scheduled to perform.:https://slippedisc.com/2023/03/boston-and-carnegie-share-russian-singer-dilemma/

On March 22nd, 2023 OperaWire magazine reported that Ildar Abdrazakov received another $200,000 US from the Russian budget. At that time, Abdrazakov was already facing backlash for his support of Putin and for his participation in propaganda concerts, including a private New Year’s party at the home of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.:https://operawire.com/ildar-abdrazakovs-festival-receives-funding-from-russian-ministry-of-culture/

On March 23rd, 2023 the British magazine Slipped Disk also reported on the next tranche of Russian state funding for Ildar Abdrazakov, titling the article “Russian Bass Rewarded for Loyalty to Putin.”: https://slippedisc.com/2023/03/russian-bass-is-rewarded-for-putin-loyalty/

On March 28th, 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty’s Russian Service reported that the Boston Symphony Orchestra and New York’s Carnegie Hall had canceled performances by Ildar Abdrazakov due to protests planned by local Ukrainian, Russian, and Jewish communities.: https://www.sibreal.org/amp/podderzhivayuschiy-putina-pevets-ne-vystupit-v-bostone-i-nyu-yorke/32337291.html

On the same day, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (in English) announced the cancellation of Ildar Abdrazakov’s concerts.: Https://www.rferl.org/amp/russia-opera-singer-abdrazakov-performances-canceled/32337747.html

On March 28th, 2023 the American magazine OperaWirereported Ildar Abdrazakov’s performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra had been canceled “for family reasons,” and his performance at Carnegie Hall had been canceled without explanation.: Https://operawire.com/ildar-abdrazakov-out-of-carnegie-hall-boston-symphony-orchestra-concerts/

On March 30th, 2023 the Boston Globe reported that in addition to the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and New York’s Carnegie Hall, Abdrazakov’s performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was also canceled. A BSO spokesperson confirmed with the Boston Globe that she was aware of the Arts Against Aggression social media campaign criticizing Abdrazakov.: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/30/arts/singer-with-alleged-putin-ties-withdraws-upcoming-bso-performances

On the same day, the British magazine Slipped Disk also reported Abdrazakov’s cancellation from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Missa Solemnis with conductor Riccardo Muti, titling the article “Chicago Deletes Russian Bass.”: https://slippedisc.com/2023/03/chicago-deletes-russian-bass/

On June 30th, 2023 British magazine Slipped Disk reported thatthe Bavarian State Opera had replaced Ildar Abdrazakov in the titular role in Boris Godunov, following protests that the singer had made statements in support of the invasion of Ukraine.: https://slippedisc.com/2023/06/just-in-munich-sacks-putin-bass/

After all these revelations and cancellations, Ildar Abdrazakov continued to participate in endless state-funded festivals, concerts, and shows in Russia, with the goal of demonstrating that everything was going well in Russia, and that no one should be concerned that their country is bombing a neighboring country and killing people.

On the eve of the Sixth Annual Ildar Abdrazakov International Festival on September 23th, 2023 he organized a luxurious ball in the royal palace on Palace Square in St. Petersburg for Russian political, business, and artistic elites. Among the guests was former Russian Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin, a long time confidant of Putin’s and who is currently under U.S. sanctions. 

Valentina Matviyenko is the Head of the Russian Federation Council; she is a member of Putin’s inner circle and was one of the first Russian government officials to be sanctioned in March 2014 for their role in the annexation of Ukrainian Crimea. Matviyenko is also in the Supreme Council of Putin’s United Russia party. Valentina Matviyenko’s daughter-in-law Julia was also in attendance at the ball: https://posta-magazine.ru/article/abdrazakov-ball-2023/

Abdrazakov received approximately $150,000 US (15.5 million Rubles) in government funding per festival from the Ministry of Culture alone. This figure did not include funding and sponsorships from state owned, funded, or controlled entities and corporations such as VTB Bank, Gasprombank, Russian News Agency TASS, and national radio and media outlets. All of these are presently under US and European Union sanctions. 

On September 25th, 2023 Vladimir Putin sent his warm greeting to Mr. Abdrazakov’s Festival.: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/72344

On October 9th, 2023 Arts Against Aggression sent an open letter to Mr. Michele de Pascale, the Mayor of Ravenna, Italy; Mrs. Cristina Mazzavillani Muti, Honorary President of the Ravenna Festival; and Mr. Antonio De Rosa, Superintendent of the Ravenna Festival; requesting the dismissal of Ildar Abdrazakov from his scheduled performances at the 2023 Ravenna Festival.: https://russianartists4war.com/2023/10/05/open-letter-to-the-ravenna-festival-foundation/

Italian translation available here: https://russianartists4war.com/2023/10/05/lettera-aperta-alla-fondazione-ravenna-festival/

Update July 01, 2024:

In December 2023, the Austrian magazine OPERN∙NEWS published another article based on an investigation conducted by the Arts Against Aggression group.
https://opern.news/news/beitrag/622

Photos and video footage revealed that opera singer Ildar Abdrazakov, conductor Valery Gergiev, viola player Yuri Bashmet, pianist Denis Matsuev, and saxophone player Igor Butman, among other prominent cultural figures, participated in Putin’s campaign and even nominated him for the presidential elections.
https://youtu.be/Qk_uV4Deg6Y

Among these musicians, Ildar Abdrazakov was the only one whose performances have not yet been cancelled in Europe. After the publication, even those opera theatres of Paris, Zurich, and Vienna that have turned a blind eye to pro-Putin artists, announced that they would terminate all collaboration with Abdrazakov.
https://operawire.com/ildar-abdrazakov-out-of-opera-de-paris-don-quichotte/
https://operawire.com/ildar-abdrazakov-out-of-opernhaus-zurich-wiener-staatsoper/

In early January 2024, Ildar Abdrazakov performance in Rome with Sir Antonio Pappano has been cancelled.
https://operawire.com/ildar-abdrazakov-cancels-performances-of-verdi-requiem-in-rome/

In June 2024 OperaWire has received confirmation that Ildar Abdrazakov is no longer managed by Centre Stage Artist Management.
https://operawire.com/ildar-abdrazakov-no-longer-managed-by-centre-stage-artist-management/

The news comes after it became known that Putin personally awarded Ildar Abdrazakov the Russian State Prize in the Kremlin.
https://operawire.com/ildar-abdrazakov-receives-russian-state-prize/

The prize continues to confirm his allegiance to the Russian Federation after having been ousted from most Western theaters. In December 2023, the bass officially endorsed Vladimir Putin for reelection in Russia and was subsequently canceled from his contracts at the Wiener Staatsoper, Paris Opera, and Zurich Opera.

However, Ildar Abdrazakov still has scheduled performances at the Italian theater Teatro San Carlo in the next season.

On June 16, 2024 Arts Against Aggression sent an open letter to Major of Naples, Minister of culture, Superintendent of the Teatro San Carlo requesting the dismissal of Ildar Abdrazakov from his scheduled performances at Teatro San Carlo in Season 24/25.
https://russianartists4war.com/2024/06/16/open-letter-to-major-of-naples-minister-of-culture-superintendent-of-the-teatro-san-carlo/