Beloved Russian singer who criticized Ukraine war returns home. The church calls for her apology

By The Associated Press

The Russian Orthodox Church has called for an apology from Alla Pugacheva, the country’s most renowned pop singer who returned home this week, over her criticism of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Pugacheva has been hugely popular in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union for decades. She left Russia for Israel along with her husband several weeks after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. In September of that year, she sparked widespread attention by both supporters and opponents of the conflict by saying that Russian soldiers were dying for “illusory goals” and that the country had become “a pariah.”