Alla Pugacheva speaks for the first time about the scandal: why she left Russia

People's Artist of the USSR Alla Pugacheva, in an interview with journalist Katerina Gordeeva, spoke about accusations of betraying the Motherland. The interview with the 76-year-old singer was published on YouTube.

Pugacheva admitted that she is indeed called a traitor to Russia, but she herself does not think so and disagrees with claims that she allegedly "fled" the country.

"How much must one hate the country to flee from it, is it some kind of prison? [These accusations have] a different meaning: the country fed me, gave me drinks, cherished me, gave me awards, and I just left. At the same time, my work and education are not taken into account. But a person has the right to leave if they are insulted," she stated.

The singer added that she knew: insults would be unavoidable. She recalled that artists Lidia Ruslanova and Klavdia Shulzhenko advised her to end her stage career at 60 to avoid attempts to "remove" her.

"One should leave the stage and even the political arena in time. And what did I betray? I have long said that I would leave the Motherland only in one case - if the Motherland betrays me. It betrayed me, but millions of fans do not betray me," Pugacheva concluded.