Kanye West was mobbed by fans in Russia as he flew in for a surprise visit to Moscow.
The 47-year-old American rapper is believed to be in the country to celebrate Russian fashion designer Gosha Rubchinskiy’s 40th birthday, rather than for a concert.
Kanye hired the poster boy of post-Soviet fashion as creative director of his Yeezy brand in December 2023, at which point Rubchinskiy was described as “legendary.”
He announced his arrival in the city with a message on the state-run website VKontakte (Russia’s answer to Facebook) in which he wrote in Russian: “Hello Moscow.”
Kanye has previously said he is “pro-Putin” and once called himself “Young Putin” during an interview on the Drink Champs podcast.
The images allegedly showed him in the Moscow metro, while other videos allegedly showed him in a five-star hotel near the Kremlin, after an alleged arrival by private plane.
Kanye reportedly viewed the Kremlin and Red Square from an observation deck on the roof of the GUM department store.
It was later reported that Kanye was staying in the £10,150-a-night presidential suite at the Four Seasons Hotel Moscow, which has a stunning view of St Basil’s Cathedral.
The rapper is reportedly with his wife Bianca Censori, 29, on a trip to Moscow, although they were not seen out and about, according to Russian media. This comes after the couple were spotted together in Paris and Tokyo this month.
Entertainment outlet Moskvichka claimed that the reason for Kanye West’s visit to Moscow was to celebrate the 40th birthday of Russian designer Gosha Rubchinsky (pictured with Kanye), and not a concert.
Russian media claim that Kanye West has arrived in Moscow. He supposedly appears in the photo above.
The images supposedly showed Kanye West in the Moscow subway, a screenshot of which can be seen above.
The rapper is reportedly with his wife Bianca Censori, 29, on the trip to Moscow, although she was not seen out and about, according to Russian media.
Fans wait for Kanye West at the Four Seasons Hotel in central Moscow where the American rapper is believed to be staying
Kanye West’s wife, Bianca Censori, brushed off concerns about her risqué outfits with the rapper’s children while out shopping in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kanye West and Bianca Censori attend the Prototypes Menswear Spring/Summer 2025 show on June 19
Prominent producer Yana Rudkovskaya was among those who claimed that West had landed in Russia: ‘Kanye West is already in Moscow! This is super news!
‘Staying in the heart of the capital! Fingers crossed for the show at Luzhniki! (stadium).’
He had previously stated that the American star would appear in Moscow for a concert in the fall.
“I’m involved in this,” she boasted, although there was no official confirmation and there were denials about any immediate action.
Putin’s state-controlled media outlet RIA Novosti claims the West is in Moscow, as does the war channel Zvezda, which is seen as a mouthpiece for the Russian Defence Ministry.
The Luzhniki stadium denied that Kayne West could give an imminent concert.
One of West’s representatives previously denied that the rapper came to Russia to make the country his “second home,” as Russian media claim in 2022.
The representative of the West, Pierre Rougier, said Rolling Stone that these claims were “totally made up.”
If confirmed to be true, the West’s presence in Moscow would be seen by many as a boost for Putin’s regime.
But a close Putin supporter, unofficial moral guardian Ekaterina Mizulina, 39, insisted in May that the star should not be welcome in Russia.
“We don’t need any Kanye West with his naked wife,” he said. “We already have enough ‘naked’ parties.”
But other Putin loyalists believe it would be a triumph if the prominent singer finally performed in Russia.
It was later reported that Kanye West was staying in the presidential suite at the Four Seasons Hotel Moscow, which costs £10,150 a night and has a stunning view of St Basil’s Cathedral.
The Australian architect turned wife and muse of Kanye West was spotted in an ultra-revealing outfit in which she eschewed a top in favor of bandage-style straps that only covered her nipples while in Paris this month.
Other videos purportedly showed him at a five-star hotel near the Kremlin, after arriving on a private jet.
Putin-supporting TV presenter and media manager Tina Kandelaki, 48, said in May: “Kanye will soon be with us… Our Russian brands are already sewing fleece-lined swimsuits for the scandalous musician’s wife.”
She told rival broadcasters that her TV channel already had the rights for a Kanye West tour to Moscow.
“I want to warn you that all rights for a possible broadcast of the concert are already in the hands of TNT, do not try to attract our overseas colleagues to your camp,” he said.
Mizulina, a London-educated art historian, heads the Safer Internet League, set up to censor the web and “fight banned content” in Russia.
She is the daughter of a fanatically pro-Putin and anti-Ukrainian senator, and last month was reported to have “reached out” to Putin with rumours of a romantic link. She is at the forefront of his campaign to return Russia to traditional values.