FROM FOUL-MOUTHED TO TONE-DEAF: A TECTONIC SHIFT IN SHNUROV'S CELEBRITY IMAGE

This paper uses a celebrity studies lens for perspective on the multiple transformations in Sergei Shnurov's celebrity persona over the last three decades. Following a biographical sketch of the Leningrad frontman, the article expounds upon the academic and popular literature on Shnurov's oeuvre, with special attention to the evolution and eventual decline of his celebrity standing in Russia. Having successfully exploited a few stage images, from a gopnik or a gangster to a truth-speaking trickster who perpetually visits the ugliest corners of both society and human identity, upon Russia's invasion of Ukraine Shnurov retreated to a safe space of neither criticizing nor supporting the status quo. His failure to either contest or clearly endorse those in power during the nation's most challenging times has stripped his celebrity persona of both its signature feature—ambivalence—and its carnivalesque aspect, thus violating the integrity of his image. Such unprecedented indecisiveness in the previously fearless showman, coupled with his withdrawal from the public arena and a pause in the Leningrad concerts, has disrupted his affective connection with his audience. The resulting damage to his celebrity status is evident from fans' reception of his most recent works.