Kanye West was mobbed by fans in Russia as he jetted in for a surprise visit to Moscow. The American rapper, 47, is thought to be in the country to celebrate the 40th birthday of Russian fashion designer Gosha Rubchinskiy, and not for a concert. Kanye hired the post-Soviet fashion poster boy as his Yeezy brand’s creative director in December 2023 in which Rubchinskiy was described as ‘legendary’. He announced his arrival to the city with a message on state-monitored website VKontakte – Russia’s answer to Facebook – in which he wrote in Russian: ‘Hello, Moscow.’ Kanye has previously said he is ‘pro-Putin’ and once called himself a ‘Young Putin’ during an interview on the Drink Champs podcast. Footage allegedly showed him in the Moscow subway, while other videos allegedly showed him at a five star hotel close to the Kremlin, following a reported arrival by private plane. Kanye reportedly saw the Kremlin and Red Square from a viewing platform on the roof of GUM department store. It was later reported that Kanye was staying in the £10,150 a night presidential suite of the Four Seasons Hotel Moscow, which has an astonishing view of St Basil’s Cathedral. The rapper is reportedly with his wife Bianca Censori, 29, on the trip to Moscow, although she was not seen on walkabouts, according to Russian media. This comes after the couple was spotted in Paris and Tokyo together this month. Prominent producer Yana Rudkovskaya was among those claiming West had touched down in the Russia: ‘Kanye West is already in Moscow! This is super news! ‘Staying in the very heart of the capital! Fingers crossed for the show at Luzhniki! [stadium].’ Earlier she had claimed the American star would appear in Moscow for a concert in autumn. ‘I am involved in this,’ she boasted, yet there has been no official confirmation – and there were denials of any immediate performance. Putin-controlled state media outlet RIA Novosti claims West is in Moscow, as does the war channel Zvezda, which is considered a mouthpiece for the Russian defence ministry. Luzhniki stadium denied Kayne West would give an imminent concert. One of West’s representatives has previously denied that the rapper would come to Russia to make the country his ‘second home’ as claimed by Russian media in 2022. West’s representative Pierre Rougier told Rolling Stone that these claims were ‘entirely fabricated’. If confirmed as true, West’s presence in Moscow would be seen by many as a boost for the Putin regime. But one close Putin backer – unofficial moral guardian Ekaterina Mizulina, 39 – insisted in May that the star should not be welcomed in Russia. ‘We don’t need any Kanye West with his naked woman,’ she said. ‘We have enough of our own ‘naked’ parties.’ But other Putin loyalists believe it would be a triumph to have the prominent singer eventually performing in Russia. Putin-backing TV presenter and media manager Tina Kandelaki, 48, claimed in May: ‘Kanye will soon be with us… Our Russian brands are already sewing swimsuits with a fleece for the wife of the outrageous musician.’ She claimed to rival broadcasters her TV channel already had rights for a Kanye West tour to Moscow. ‘I want to warn you that all rights to a possible broadcast of the concert are already in the hands of TNT, do not try to lure our overseas comrade to your camp,’ she said. Mizulina, a London-educated art historian, heads the Safe Internet League, created to censor the web and ‘fight prohibited content’ in Russia. She is daughter of a fanatically pro-Putin and anti-Ukrainian senator, and was reported last month to have ‘become close’ to Putin with rumours of a romantic link. She is at the forefront of his drive to return Russia to traditional values.
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