Russian showman Maxim Galkin hosted a wedding for a Ukrainian couple on Lake Como, Italy, where he sang Ukrainian songs and entertained guests with tongue-in-cheek jokes. The event was held in Russian, although the music repertoire was in Ukrainian. The video was posted on social media by invited celebrities and friends of the couple.
Dmytro Monatik also performed at the wedding, Ukrainianizing old Russian-language tracks. As can be heard in some of the videos, Maxim Galkin "warmed up" the audience before the newlyweds came out and also led the ceremony after the vows. The Russian's performance was accompanied by Ukrainian songs: "Smereka", "Gold of the Carpathians" and "One Viburnum".
The artist even recited a tongue-in-cheek song about a palianytsia for the newlyweds. Interestingly, Kyiv-based DJ Prohor received a response from the author of The Gold of the Carpathians, Stepan Giga, who sent a light to Galkin's performance. The wedding took place at Villa Balbiano, one of the most luxurious houses on Lake Como, where The House of Gucci was filmed.
Neither Galkin nor Monatik announced their participation in the event on their social media. Meanwhile, a wave of indignation has already risen online that Ukrainians are celebrating a wedding to the jokes of a "good Russian," demonstrating luxury and fun in the midst of a full-scale war. In response to the hate speech, Dmytro Monatik's management assured journalist Alina Dorotiuk that there were no Russians among the guests, the .