Yuriy Rybchynskyi spoke about Joseph Kobzon's past
Ukrainian poet and Hero of Ukraine Yuriy Rybchynskyi stated that even before he openly supported the Kremlin, Iosif Kobzon allegedly had ties to the alcohol trade and criminal circles. According to him, these facts became known long before the singer took a political stance in favor of Russia.
Rybchynskyi noted that despite Kobzon’s current reputation, he cannot ignore the fact that for many Ukrainian composers and poets, the artist was an important figure at the beginning of their creative careers.
“Yosif Kobzon is now a persona non grata. But we can’t remain silent either, because Kobzon played a significant role in the lives of both me and Zlotnik (Ukrainian composer Oleksandr Zlotnik – “Glavkom”), and with Poklad (Ukrainian composer Igor Poklad—Glavkom), and with many others, a part of our life stories is connected to him. He was a role model for us in his time. We used to talk to Kobzon as a friend, never imagining that this man would betray not only us, but first and foremost himself,” said the poet.
Rybchynskyi believes that changes in Kobzon’s behavior began as early as the war in Afghanistan. He recalled rumors circulating at the time about the illegal transport of drugs disguised as the transport of the bodies of fallen soldiers and noted that during that period, the singer was already actively involved in business.
The poet also recalled an incident when he was a guest at Kobzon’s dacha near Moscow. According to him, the singer showed him a room completely filled with bottles of vodka, explaining that alcohol was “hard currency” in an environment of currency devaluation. “Even back then, Yosif’s mindset was already shifting toward business,” Rybchinsky noted.
Later, he said, Kobzon’s circle of associates changed.
“After a while, we could see that he was no longer surrounded by people from the arts, but by criminal elements. At a time when the era brought together KGB agents and ‘thieves-in-law,’ Yosyp Davydovych served as the intermediary, the bridge between these two groups,” he stated.
Rybchinsky also recalled in an interview with journalist Dmitry Gordon that the United States later banned Kobzon from entering the country. “Some time later, the United States declared him the head of the Russian mafia in America and barred him from entering the country,” the poet said.
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