who s died at the age of 90. ms lynn enjoyed a successful, six decade long career. now on bbc news, it s hardtalk with zeinab badawi. welcome to hardtalk, with me, zeinab badawi. as the war in ukraine rages on, we speak to a russian rock legend whose life and career have mirrored his motherland s journey from the soviet era, through the break up of the soviet union, to putin s authoritarian state. my guest is boris grebenshchikov. he last played in russia the day before putin invaded ukraine in february, and is now living in london. bg, as he s known to his fans, risks prosecution for his anti war comments if he returns to russia. the role cultural icons have to play in the politics of protests is a well trodden one, but do their voices have any impact inside russia? boris grebenshchikov, welcome to hardtalk. thanks for having me. all right, so you last performed in russia just six hours before putin invaded ukraine. you say you had a sense of foreboding that something monume
ukraine in february, and is now living in london. bg, as he is known to his fans, risks prosecution for his anti war comments if he returns to russia. the role cultural icons have to play in the politics of protests is a well trodden one, but do their voices have any impact inside russia? boris grebenshchikov, welcome to hardtalk. thanks for having me. all right, so you last performed in russia just six hours before putin invaded ukraine. you say you had a sense of foreboding that something monumental was going to happen. what did you think was going to occur? you know, we played a concert on the night before the invasion, and i had this weird feeling that i m playing in hamburg in 1939. so i knew that something really bad is coming. i couldn t predict the war, but, you know, it felt bad. and now, when you see ukrainian cities, where you performed, either being destroyed, some of the very theatres where you actually played, and also places like kherson, one of the four provin
days of hostilities. but, it s reported the israeli military has struck targets in gaza within minutes of the ceasefire coming into force. now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i m stephen sackur. russia s war on ukraine has turned culture into a battleground. in countries supportive of ukraine s resistance to putin s invasion, some russian artists, musicians and dancers have been stripped of their platforms or they ve been asked to denounce russia s military aggression. when does solidarity turn into censorship? my guest is the world renowned soviet born conductor semyon bychkov. is art the loser when politics takes centre stage? semyon bychkov, a very warm welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you are like all of the great musical maestros, you re peripatetic, your career takes you all around the world, you are constantly travelling. is there one place you can point to and say that has done the most to define you as a person and an artist? no, i don t think so. maybe be
my guest is the world renowned soviet born conductor semyon bychkov. is art the loser when politics takes centre stage? semyon bychkovjoins me now. welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you are like all of the great musical maestros, you re peripatetic, your career takes you all around the world, you are constantly travelling. is there one place you can point to and say that has done the most to define you as a person and an artist? no, i don t think so. maybe because my destiny made it so that i was born in russia. i lived there 22 years before emigrating to america. leningrad was the city, when it was called leningrad. leningrad today, st petersburg. so the dna, the roots are there, have always been, always will be. but then what happens is that i come to america, i live five years, my first five years, in new york, and then i conduct grand rapid symphony in michigan, buffalo philharmonic, so altogether i think, what, 13, 14 years of life in america, becoming us citizen, having
to be banned. now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i m stephen sackur. russia s war on ukraine has turned culture into a battleground in countries supportive of ukraine s resistance to putin s invasion, some russian artists, musicians and dancers have been stripped of their platforms or they ve been asked to denounce russia s military aggression. when does solidarity turn into censorship? my guest is the world renowned soviet born conductor semyon bychkov. is art the loser when politics takes centre stage? semyon bychkovjoins me now, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you are like all of the great musical maestros, you re peripatetic, your career takes you all around the world, you are constantly travelling. is there one place you can point to and say that has done the most to define you as a person and an artist? no, i don t think so, maybe because my destiny made it so that i was born in russia. i lived there 22 years before emigrating to america. leningrad was a ci