The famous Russian and Soviet actor Alexei Batalov crossed out his past achievements and betrayed his talent by supporting the annexation of the Crimea.

This opinion was expressed by journalist Vitaly Portnikov in a blog on the website "Crimea. Realities ".

"I understood that Batalov's death would again divide the Russian and Ukrainian societies. That Ukrainians will remember the deceitful words with which the actor spoiled both his obituary and his biography. And the Russians will perceive these Batalov words in support of the regime and its actions as the natural culmination of the entire creative path of the beloved artist-what else could a People's Artist of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor, the State Prize Winner say? "He writes.

Portnikov, assessing Batalov's act, cited the example of the great Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun: "At 83, this genius supported the Nazi occupation of his homeland. The name of Hamsun in Norway is not called either school or street, there are no museums dedicated to him, his jubilees are celebrated reluctantly - and this despite the fact that there is not a Norwegian in the world whose heart would not freeze when reading these beautiful and sad books ".

According to the journalist, it does not matter that the annexation of the Crimea is supported by Sery Aksenov or Natalia Poklonskaya - it is of great importance that the annexation of the Crimea was supported by Batalov.

"The act of Poklonskaya - choice trough. Batalov's act is a betrayal of his own talent, called to be a humanistic instrument for purifying the human soul. And the purification of the human soul can not be an excuse for war, death and lies. This is not forgiven - neither in this world, nor on that, "he stressed..

"Do you remember a lot about Fedor Bondarchuk or Zakhar Prilepin? Do not they forget about such people before they get old? But about Batalov - they will remember. About Tabakov - remember. About Yunne Moritz - remember. They will remember once the regime that has stolen the Crimea collapses, made a war in the Donbas, deprived thousands of people of their lives and their homes. They will remember because it was these - and many other people respected earlier both by their compatriots and ourselves - who were supposed to save the honor of their people, the honor of Russia. But what did they choose? "- concluded Portnikov.

As reported by the "Observer", 88-year-old actor Alexei Batalov died on the night of June 15. After his death, Ukrainians remembered the artist's statement about the annexation of the Crimea.

"It's wonderful that we have Crimea again, I'm not talking about all sorts of military interests - it's different. I'm just talking about people. And thank you for this one person to whom we owe this - he is an absolute good. And the main thing is that this is true, because people there are still always ours. I also clap and wield and cry with all my hands - it's wonderful! "- said Batalov in 2014, commenting on the occupation of the peninsula.

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