Russian comedian, television presenter and singer who left Russia in March 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and was subsequently listed as a foreign agent by the Russian government. Galkin is Jewish from his mother’s side.
He first became famous as an impersonator and is known for his talent at parody and his duets with the famous Russian pop singer Alla Pugacheva and Ani Lorak.
Galkin was the host of the Russian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? before 2009. In 2010, Galkin was one of the few comedians performing an impression, albeit ‘light-hearted’, of President Vladimir Putin, on Russia’s Channel One TV channel.
On New Year’s Eve in 2013, Galkin and the then popular Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy performed together in a traditional New Year’s program called Little Blue Light on the Russia-1 TV channel. Russian TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, who later became a leading Kremlin propagandist, also appeared on the show as one of the presenters and danced in the audience during Galkin and Zelenskyy’s performance.
After November 2016 he hosted a children’s TV talent show Best of all, and did so at least until mid-2017.
Since 2001, Galkin had been romantically involved with the famed Soviet and Russian singer Alla Pugacheva. On 24 December 2011, the couple married, despite the significant age gap. On 18 September 2013 Galkin and Pugacheva became the biological parents of twins Elizaveta and Harry via a surrogate mother. In August 2022, Russian media reports suggested that his wife and children may have returned to Russia, and in September 2022, Russia listed him as a foreign agent.
Link to Wikipedia biography