Music
18 Aug 26

Kanye West announces tour dates in Russia

Kanye West. Photo credit Rich Fury.

Russian fans sped to secure tickets after the shows were announced on Monday; nearly all of the most expensive tickets were snapped up within hours, and by the evening, the cheapest tickets had also sold out.

Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, has announced two shows in St Petersburg, Russia, on October 10 and 11.

These performances will make him the biggest Western star to play in the country since its invasion of Ukraine four years ago.

Tickets for the shows at the 70,000-capacity Gazprom Arena sold out within hours of the announcement. Prices ranged from 9,000 roubles (€91) to 160,000 (€1,627).

Rumours of Ye planning a performance in Russia have been circulating for some time. Speculation intensified in 2024, when he travelled to Moscow for the birthday celebrations of Russian fashion designer and longtime collaborator Gosha Rubchinskiy.

The artist has attracted controversy in recent years with his antisemitic outbursts and expressions of sympathy towards nazism. Venues such as the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, Poland, cancelled his scheduled June concert.

Promoting Nazi symbols is a criminal offence in Poland, and anyone found guilty of publicly promoting Nazism can be imprisoned for up to three years.

This January, West apologised in a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal, writing: "I am not a Nazi or an antisemite."

Reflecting on a "four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour," he said he was "deeply mortified" by his actions and that his bipolar disorder meant "you're manic, you don't think you're sick."

Vitaly Milonov, a Russian conservative lawmaker, suggested Ye should perform traditional Russian songs instead of his planned setlist, reflecting the anti-Western views of many nationalists.

"Maybe after this he'll stop his disgusting antics and become a normal person," Milonov added.

Another Russian politician, Nikolay Novichkov, told the Russian outlet Ostorozhno Novosti that he has called for an investigation into Ye's past remarks praising Hitler, including his 2022 claim that there were "good things" about the Nazi leader.

Novichkov also said that the concerts should be cancelled unless the singer publicly expresses "moral support for Russia and the special military operation."

Concerts by Western acts weren't uncommon before Russia invaded Ukraine - with artists such as Lana Del Rey, Muse and System of a Down performing in the country.

With many record labels suspending activities in Russia during the war, only a handful of artists have ventured.