A Pro-Putin Rapper Has Released (and Deleted) the Most Disliked YouTube Video in Russian History

Timati denies claims that he was paid by the government to release the song

BY Josiah HughesPublished Sep 11, 2019

While you may not know him by name, Timati is an extremely well-known rapper in Russia. We'd normally use the word "popular," but following the release of a recent pro-Putin song, the adjective most certainly does not apply.

As the Guardian reports, Timati recently released a pro-Kremlin music video called "Moscow" that praised the city's new mayor Sergei Sobyanin and criticized recent anti-Kremlin protests.

The song's lyrics included lines like, "I don't go on protests and I don't talk shit," and homophobic lyrics celebrating Moscow for not holding a pride parade. The music video for the track featured plenty of stock footage of the Moscow cityscape. 

Somewhat impressively, "Moscow" became the most disliked video in the history of YouTube's existence in Russia. It achieved an impressive 1.48 million dislikes — a stunning ratio compared to its 85,000 likes. 

"Today it's trendy to complain about the government, but I have my own opinion," Timati wrote on his Instagram, insisting he wasn't paid by the state to release the song. "Instead of going to protests, you should work and improve yourselves."

In 2015, Timati released a song called "My Best Friend Is Vladimir Putin."

 

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