Kanye’s St. Petersburg Concerts Reportedly Scrapped

US entertainer Kanye West’s planned October concerts in Russia’s St. Petersburg reportedly fell through. The two concerts in the Russian city, scheduled for Oct. 11-12, were initially announced in August, with tickets ranging from 9,000 rubles ($112) to 160,000 rubles ($1,980) for the most expensive seats sold out within hours.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. But on Thursday, Sept. 24, Russian propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov wrote that the concerts “will not take place” without further elaboration. The brief statement followed reports that St. Petersburg was removed from the tour schedule six days earlier, as reported by Russian outlet Meduza. The tour has been marred by controversies, including venue issues. A week after Moscow-based event organizer Say Agency announced the tour, St. Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena – which is set to host the concerts – said it never agreed to host them. West’s controversies West is also known for his controversial remarks, including praise for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and other anti-semitic remarks. He has since publicly apologized for the antics and blamed his alleged bipolar disorder. The concerts had already attracted significant opposition from Russian officials, activists and pro-war Telegram channels even before the venue pulled out. State Duma lawmaker Nikolai Novichkov of the A Just Russia party demanded that Ye publicly support Russia’s position in its war against Ukraine. He warned that he would seek to cancel the concerts if the rapper failed to do so. Other Topics of Interest Russian Radars and Drone Launch Site Damaged by Ukraine The strikes targeted two air-surveillance radars, an attack drone facility near Donetsk, and a Russian fuel depot in occupied Ukraine. When West visited Moscow for a day in 2024, Russian ultraconservatives lambasted his visit. An Orthodox fundamentalist group also filed a complaint to Russian authorities regarding a song written by West with the lyrics, “She want me to put some of this coke in her butt, ugh. She Russian, I beat up the p***y for Ukraine.” Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.