Alexander Lukashenko inaugurated himself, president of Belarus, for the sixth time despite the ongoing protests following the fraudulent elections on August 9, 2020. The ceremony took place with several top officials present, and the president-controlled press made dry announcements about the event. Neither the international community nor the civil society was informed about it.

Several European states, including Germany, Slovakia, and the Baltic States, refused to recognize Alexandr Lukashenko as the legitimate president of the country. Among the world leaders who support the dictator in Belarus are Vladimir Putin and the presidents affiliated with Putin and the singers who serve them. 

Certain Russian stage singers sing hymns to presidents who are obedient to Putin.Recently, a big group of Russian singers sang for Alexander Lukashenko, just a few days before he secretly inaugurated himself again. Kirkorov, Baskov, Buinov, Anita Tsoi, Gurskaia, and many others joined their voices to sing in a video supporting a losing dictator while Belarus is boiling in protests for more than a month.

These singers’ names are well known in Chișinău, Moldova, after many political concerts they had for the last decade. The Russian singers performed for the oligarch Plahotniuc’s elections, and now for the president Igor Dodon.

Local artists have also changed their political preferences during the election periods in Moldova, singing with the same voices to promote the left-wing, right-wing, or center-right liars. They promoted socialism, oligarchy, the uninominal electoral system, the Kremlin vector, cynicism, political falsehood, and electoral lies.

Kirkorov, Leps, Baskov, and the Moldovan artists are united by what we may generically call illegal money. These performing political services are paid with unofficially declared money, with cash in envelopes. If a politician does not display the money he pays the artists, it’s most likely the money comes from acts of corruption, thieves, or the public budget. 

 Should artists and singers take illegal money from politicians? Do they understand that the money comes from the poorest European country’s pockets? The poverty and despair Moldova has reached with each fraudulent campaign, including through song, must also fall on the shoulders of those who took money from politicians to baffle people with concerts.

The pandemic, which has caused many problems for ordinary people, seems to have affected corrupt politicians and singers. They can no longer openly organize political concerts. It is a time when the artists’ participation in sharing the electoral illegal money will become even more visible. 

If they do it again, they may be invited to sing at the dictator’s inauguration, while the people will sing curses in the street. Meanwhile, their children will see how European states do not recognize the next dictator, and international isolation will become the main issue. 

 Indeed, corrupt artists can help establish a dictatorship. Citizens can hold them all accountable.