Kanye West Is Performing In Russia, Venue Says
Kanye West is performing two shows at a Russian arena in St. Petersburg in October, the venue announced in a post on Telegram on Monday, months after the controversial rapper’s shows in other European nations were canceled or delayed, and marking one of the biggest American artists to perform in the country since the war in Ukraine began in 2022.
West is scheduled to perform two shows Oct. 10-11 at the 70,000-capacity Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg, the venue announced.
The post called West “the most influential musical artist of our time” and said the shows would be part of his “record-breaking world tour”—though stops have been canceled in Poland, Italy, Switzerland, the U.K. and postponed in France after years of antisemitic comments, praise for Adolf Hitler and Nazi imagery found on past merchandise.
The concerts were also confirmed by TASS, Russia’s state-owned newswire, which claimed the cheapest tickets sold out within an hour after the shows were announced, Reuters reported.
West was one of the most beloved hip hop artists to come out of the 2000s, winning 24 Grammy Awards and currently reaching over 69.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. However, his business empire collapsed and his public image was disgraced in recent years over increasingly erratic behavior and a constant stream of antisemitic remarks. He lost billionaire status in 2022 after Adidas joined the list of companies severing ties with the rapper, while some countries revoked his visas. West repeatedly praised Nazi dictator and mass murderer Adolf Hitler, including releasing a song called “Heil Hitler” in 2025. West eventually apologized in a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal in January, blaming his comments on bipolar disorder and a brain injury.
Despite the cancellations in some European countries, West’s shows in others have gone ahead, drawing large crowds. In Turkey, West’s show at Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul drew a crowd of 118,000 fans—prompting West to claim this broke a record for largest crowd at a stadium show, although it’s unclear whether this is accurate. Lady Gaga’s free concert in Rio de Janeiro last year drew a crowd of 2.5 million, Variety reported, though it was not at a stadium.
West was briefly a billionaire, but hasn’t reached that valuation since 2022. He lost his status after Adidas dissolved a deal with his brand Yeezy after his antisemitic comments and erratic behavior. That deal was worth an estimated $1.5 billion, Forbes estimated, and losing the business dropped the rapper’s net worth down to $400 million.