The commission of the Grushinsky festival was accused of refusing to perform songs about the special operation

State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein said that the competition committee of the Grushinsky festival in Samara, which took place from June 29 to July 2, banned any patriotic songs, including those dedicated to the special operation in Ukraine. According to him, those who were denied a speech – among them were deputies and combatants – “had to sing at the ”alternative” site ”Victory”.”

“As a result, they (competition commission.— ”b”) managed to “break through” with great difficulty, however, the chairman of the artistic council and the headliner of the festival, Oleg Mityaev, did not go on stage in protest. And at the time of Kalinkin’s performance of the song ”We need one victory”, when the whole glade stood up, some of the capital’s bards, including Khomchik, demonstratively remained seated. The president of Grusha, Boris Keilman, did not get up either,” Khinshtein wrote in his Telegram channel.

The deputy said that the members of the commission who oppose the songs dedicated to military operations “do not need a victory at all, but they need money from the budget.” He pointed out that 29 million rubles were allocated from the Presidential Grants Fund for the festival.

Member of the jury and artistic council of the festival, performer Galina Khomchik, who is mentioned in her post by Alexander Khinshtein, said that no one banned patriotic songs at the festival. “It is nonsense. I don’t know what an alternative venue is, there are so many scenes – they are all different, there are different programs, nothing is forbidden to anyone there. This is a fake,” said Mrs. Khomchik. “Beware Media”.

Commenting on the performance of Mikhail Kalinkin, which, according to the deputy, was deliberately delayed, Galina Khomchik explained that the jury adhered to the script, which was agreed upon by the Ministry of Culture. The performance with the song “We need one victory”, according to her, “was inserted into the program at the last moment at the request of the governor.”

The Grushinsky Festival is a song festival of author’s songs, which has been held since 1968 in Samara. It is held in a campground. In 2003, a separate stage was organized at the festival, which was called “Victory”, patriotic songs were presented on it. In 2023, the site was renamed “ZA Pobeda”. A total of 17 different venues were organized.

Lusine Balasyan