Maxim Galkin

Maxim Alexandrovich Galkin (born 18 June 1976) is a Soviet-born Israeli comedian,[1] television presenter and singer. Galkin left Russia in March 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine[2] and was subsequently listed as a foreign agent by the Russian government.[3]

Maxim Galkin
Galkin in 2017
Born
Maxim Alexandrovich Galkin

(1976-06-18) June 18, 1976
Naro-Fominsky District, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Alma materRussian State University for the Humanities
Occupations
Years active2000–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2011)​
Children2
Awards
Websitemaxgalkin.ru

Biography

He first became famous as an impersonator and is known for his talent at parody and his duets with the famous Russian pop singer Alla Pugacheva and Ani Lorak.

Galkin was the host of the Russian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from 2001 to 2008.[1][4]

In 2010, Galkin was one of the few comedians performing an impression, albeit 'light-hearted', of President Vladimir Putin, on Russia's Channel One TV channel.[5]

On New Year's Eve in 2013, Galkin and the then popular Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy performed together in a traditional New Year's program called “Little Blue Light” on the Russia-1 TV channel. Russian TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, who later became a leading Kremlin propagandist, also appeared on the show as one of the presenters and danced in the audience during Galkin and Zelenskyy's performance.[6][7]

After November 2016 he hosted a children's talent show on TV "Best of all", and did so at least until mid-2017.[8]

Personal life

Galkin is Jewish, from his mother's side.[9]

Since 2001, Galkin had been romantically involved with the famed Soviet and Russian singer Alla Pugacheva. On December 24, 2011, the couple married, despite the significant age gap.[10] On September 18, 2013 Galkin and Pugacheva became the biological parents of twins via a surrogate mother – Elizaveta and Harry.[2] In August 2022, Russian media reports suggested that his wife and children may have returned to Russia, and in September 2022, Russia listed him as a foreign agent.[3]

Political views

Galkin has been openly critical about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He accused the Russian authorities of hypocrisy and lies with respect to war crimes that Russia has committed in firing rockets at the Ukrainian city of Odesa, its siege and destruction of Mariupol and its atrocities in Bucha.[11]

He spoke up negatively about the Russian gay propaganda law, comparing it to a 'witch-hunt', which is created only for political PR and public distraction from more important issues.[12] However, he does not deem it necessary to legalize same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption because it can provoke a negative reaction in society.[13]

Awards

References
  1. Beumers, Birgit (2005). Pop culture Russia!: media, arts, and lifestyle. ABC-CLIO, Inc. p. 35. ISBN 1-85109-459-8.
  2. "Russian Megastars Alla Pugacheva, Maxim Galkin Flee to Israel". Haaretz. 24 March 2022.
  3. Philissa Cramer (2022-09-19). "Iconic Russian singer condemns war on Ukraine after Jewish husband declared 'foreign agent'". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  4. "Bio at IMdb". IMDb. Retrieved Sep 19, 2009.
  5. Bratersky, Alexander (Jan 14, 2010). "New Cartoon Show Puts Putin Among Men". Moscow Time. Archived from the original on Jun 29, 2011. Retrieved Jan 25, 2010.
  6. "Russian State TV's New Year Broadcast Was Dystopian As Hell". Vice. 6 January 2023.
  7. "Zelensky celebrated New Year's Eve with Putin's top propagandist". Switzerland Times. 3 January 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. Лучше всех [Best of all]. vokrug.tv. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  9. "כוכבי הענק הרוסים אלה פוגצ'ובה ומקסים גלקין ברחו לישראל" [Russian superstars Ella Pugacheva and Maxim Galkin fled to Israel]. הארץ. Haaretz. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  10. "News article in Russian". Mail.ru. 26 December 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  11. Rozovsky, Liza. "Kremlin Threatens Russian Star Comedian Who Fled to Israel". Haaretz. Haaretz.com. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  12. ntv.ru. "Галкин защитил геев от "охоты на ведьм"" [Galkin defended gays from the "witch hunt"]. НТВ. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  13. "GAY.RU - Максим Галкин поддержал супругу: "Усыновление детей геями я принять не могу..."" [GAY.RU - Maxim Galkin supported his wife: "I can't accept the adoption of children by gays..."]. www.gay.ru. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  14. "Galkin Maksim, photo, biography". persona.rin.ru. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
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