British singer James Blunt posted a photo wearing a hat with earflaps with the coat of arms of Russia.

On March 17, British singer and composer James Blunt posted a photo in a hat with earflaps with the Russian coat of arms, for which he was massively criticized by users from Ukraine.

Blunt posted on the social network Instagram (owned by Meta, which is recognized as an extremist organization and banned in the Russian Federation). It shows him standing in the middle of a snowy mountainous area in a red sweater and a fur vest. On his head, the musician put on a gray hat with earflaps with the Russian coat of arms.

In addition, he attached to the photo a composition by English musician John Barry From Russia with love, which became the soundtrack of the James Bond film From Russia with Love.

However, the publication was not liked by the Ukrainian audience of Instagram. Users wrote almost 2 thousand comments under the post, which significantly exceeds the average figures of the musician's account. Ukrainians criticized Blunt for displaying the Russian state symbol. Many people began to rudely insult the singer and rhyme his last name with obscene expressions.

"I'm deleting all your songs from my Spotify/YouTube playlists, blocking you everywhere [on social media], praying for the collapse of your career," one user said.

In addition, Ukrainians began to write the Nazi expression "Glory to Ukraine!". Even People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from the Servant of the People party Dmitry Cherny joined the discussion.

Russian users, on the contrary, condemned the offensive comments and expressed support for Blunt, pointing out the cult nature of his songs. Some called on him to speak in Russia.

It's worth noting that Blunt still hasn't deleted the photo, despite the harsh criticism.

The musician became famous in 2004 after the release of the album Back to Bedlam. Subsequently, his songs, such as You're Beautiful and Goodbye My Lover, occupied the top of the British charts and became popular abroad. Before starting his career, Blunt served in the Royal Armed Forces — he was a tank driver. He left the army with the rank of an officer.

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The local media has already called the government's decision a "return of fascism."

On the eve it was reported that two performances of the People's Artist of the Russian Federation, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater Svetlana Zakharova, which she was supposed to give as part of the big gala concert of the stars of the world ballet Les Etoiles in Rome, were canceled. It was emphasized that the decision was made ostensibly to avoid the risks of misinterpretation of the entire festival.

Zakharova herself, in a conversation with Izvestia, noted that unprecedented pressure was exerted on the organizers of her speeches. She stressed that her attitude towards the situation remains neutral.

Zakharova's performances in Italy have already been canceled on January 9th. At the end of the month, she was scheduled to give a concert in Florence at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale. Then representatives of the Ukrainian Embassy expressed their disagreement with the planned, and the invitation of the Russian woman was also canceled.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.