Olya Polyakova found herself at the center of a scandal over a video featuring a Russian man in Latvia
Ukrainian singer Olya Polyakova sparked outrage on social media after a video surfaced showing her with a Russian artist during the Laima Rendezvous Jūrmala 2026 festival in Latvia. The clip, which sparked a wave of criticism among Ukrainians, was later removed from social media, and the singer herself has not yet commented on the situation.
The reason for the backlash was a video in which the singer appeared alongside musician Grey Wiese (Sergey Grigoryev-Apollonov). The video was posted on the festival’s official Instagram page. In the footage, Polyakova and the singer are walking down a hallway, smiling and holding hands to the accompaniment of music.
This interaction sparked a sharp reaction among Ukrainian social media users. In the comments under the video and on Threads, users reminded the artist of her public statements in support of Ukraine and expressed confusion over her appearance alongside a person who has taken an ambiguous stance during this major war.
Some users pointed out that Grey Wiese, despite living outside Russia, has previously made cautious statements about the war on multiple occasions, avoiding direct condemnation of Russian aggression. In addition, users reminded her of her interactions with certain figures in the Russian entertainment industry, including Ksenia Sobchak and Yana Rudkovskaya.
- Polyakova, have you lost your mind?
- Polyakova has finally hit rock bottom.
- Guys are dying, and she’s recording videos with Russians.
- Olya wants to go to Moscow.
- With Sergei, who gave an interview on the German channel and, when asked about the war, replied, “It’s not all that clear-cut.” And this is in the fifth year of the war. She’s friends with Sobchak and admires Rudkovskaya, who is a pro-Putin scumbag.
Some users also mentioned the singer’s recent appearance at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigative Commission, where she spoke emotionally about her pro-Ukrainian stance and her desire to represent Ukraine at “Eurovision.”
At the same time, there were those who came to Polyakova’s defense. In their view, the musician should not be equated with the Russian government. In particular, users point out that Sergey has been living in Germany for many years and renounced his Russian passport in 2014.
- She has lived in Germany for 23 years, is a German citizen, and renounced her Russian citizenship in 2014. Ukrainians are bashing Polyakova for releasing a collaboration with a Russian-speaking artist. Are you guys completely out of your minds? Olya, don’t pay any attention to them.
- He rescued a Ukrainian dog, which now lives with him.
- He’s against the war and hasn’t lived in Russia for a long time—so long, in fact, that it’s not even relevant to the current situation.
It’s telling that after a wave of discussions, the video featuring Polyakova disappeared from the festival’s pages. It’s currently unknown who exactly made the decision to remove it. Olya Polyakova herself hasn’t publicly commented on the situation yet.
Incidentally, Sergey Grigoriev-Apollonov is a relative of Andrey Grigoriev-Apollonov, the lead singer of the band “Ivanushki International.” He was born in Saratov and is pursuing a music career under the stage name Grey Wiese. He is friends with the controversial Ukrainian blogger Igor Sinyak, who moved abroad from Kramatorsk and holds a Russian passport.
In 2018, together with Andriy Grigoryev-Apollonov Jr., he formed the band AppolonovGang, which performed in Russia. For quite some time now, the artist has been living between Germany and France. Since the start of the full-scale war, he has repeatedly made general statements about peace but has avoided explicitly recognizing Russia as an aggressor nation. As a result, his position has sparked a heated debate on social media.
Read also:
The 30 Most Anticipated Movies of 2026 Have Been Announced: From Blockbusters to Art-House Releases.
The 15 best Christmas movies: from cult classics to new releases.
Also, the top 10 movies about corruption and the fight against it.
