Two October shows at Gazprom Arena place the rapper in another politically charged market, with a parliament member threatening to seek cancellation unless Ye publicly backs Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The concert business around Kanye West keeps moving through markets where his presence is contested. On October 10th and 11th, he is scheduled to perform at Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg, a 70,000-capacity venue. Tickets are on sale for both dates, with prices ranging from 15,000 to 225,000 rubles.
The booking has already drawn a direct political response. Lawmaker Nikolay Novichkov said foreign artists performing in Russia should publicly express support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. “They want to make money,” Novichkov told Ostorozhno Novosti. “If they want to make money, they need to understand that the country is in a special military operation and needs moral support from cultural figures.” He added that he would raise the possibility of cancelling the concerts and said he would initiate a review of Ye’s past praise of Adolf Hitler to determine whether it could warrant prosecution.
The St. Petersburg shows
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