Kanye West’s Warm But Definitely Racist Bizarro Welcome to Russia

Kanye West reportedly went to Moscow to celebrate the birthday of Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy—the head of design for the rapper’s fashion brand Yeezy. State media used to portray the performer and his wife, Bianca Censori, as symbols of decadent, degenerate Western values, but beggars can’t be choosers. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-fledged invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022, West is the first major celebrity to visit Russia.

Russia’s fascist ideologue Alexander Dugin posted on his Telegram channel, “By the way, ideologically, Kanye West is ours.” Perhaps he was referring to the comments West made one year ago on Alex Jones’ InfoWars, praising Adolf Hitler for what he brought to the table. After the rapper departed Moscow, Dugin wrote, “He will be back.”

The American rapper was outwardly welcomed, but resentment was bubbling just under the surface. The Sorok Sorokov Movement, a Russian Orthodox-traditionalist organization, wrote a complaint about West, arguing that his lyrics should be considered propaganda of extremism and drug use. Traditionalist activists demanded that Kanye be banished from Russia and never allowed to return.

Read more at The Daily Beast.