Igor Lifanov assessed the prospects of actors who left Russia in the West

“There is no question of an international career”

Many artists who left Russia because of the ongoing special operation in Ukraine expect to make a career in the West. At the same time, actor Igor Lifanov is convinced that it is difficult for domestic actors to succeed abroad if the productions in which they participate are not international.

In a conversation with “Arguments and Facts” Lifanov gave an example that during his own trips with tours to Germany or, for example, to Israel, he performs “for his own”. He recalled that when they went to New York with Dmitry Nagiyev with the play “Kysya”, the audience in the hall was also Russian-speaking.

According to Lifanov, in order for a Chinese, Norwegian or Korean to come to see a domestic artist and cry, the story told in a movie or play must be international. The actor emphasized that Russian artists are “boiling” exclusively in their own cauldron, therefore they are of interest only to Russian-speaking viewers, and in this case there is no question of an international career.

Speaking about the ban on Russian culture in the West, Lifanov asked himself questions about what kind of division of world culture this is, and also about why such excesses are needed. According to the artist, art has no boundaries for smart people. He is convinced that if Chekhov and Tchaikovsky are banned, it will not lead to anything good. Lifanov admits that he cannot survive what is happening today. He explained that only yesterday “we were all friends”, and today, “when we are fighting the Nazis”, Russia immediately became bad for the whole world.

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