Singer Yaroslav “Shaman” Dronov, before a concert in Tver, visited an exhibition of paintings by his fan Zhanna Sevtsova “I Paint a Shaman” – and made the sign of the cross in front of his pictures. A video of this episode was posted on social media.
The video was posted on Fan crowd dronova. They also explained that the episode videotaped took place in the Proletarka Palace of Culture. The singer’s concerts will be held there on May 19 and 20. Meanwhile, Svetsova’s paintings were displayed in the foyer of the Cultural Center.
It is not clear whether Dronov knew about its filming, as well as about the video’s further distribution. The video appears to have been filmed by eyewitnesses.
At the recording, Dronoff signed something on the merchandise stand in the lobby next to the paintings. Then, accompanied by two men, he approaches his pictures and makes the sign of the cross in front of them.
The video sparked mixed reactions. “God grants everyone such self-respect,” noted journalist Ksenia Sobchak. VKontakte users among one of the video reposts comparison Singer with Homelander (Patriot), the main villain of the TV series “The Boys” and the comic book of the same name.
The Russian Orthodox Church defended the shamans. Priest and blogger Pavel Ostrovsky malethat you should not see the singer’s gesture as if the shaman were praying to himself. According to him, for those who pray outside the temple, “there will always be something strange.” Ostrovsky added: “The man prayed, well done.”
Also the official representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vakhtang Kipshidze He doubtedThat Dronov “being Orthodox” expressed himself precisely in his image. He pointed out that every believer can be baptized wherever he wants.
The shaman himself has not yet commented.
In February, social media and media discussed a video of a shaman licking the ice on Lake Baikal. The recording marked “18+” was published by the singer himself.
Shaman gained popularity amid Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, releasing the ultra-patriotic songs “I’m Russian” and “Let’s Rise.” The singer supports the policies of the Russian authorities and the war. It is subject to Western sanctions.