When looking for insightful political analysis over complex issues of authoritarianism, resource nationalism, and human rights abuses, of course Western culture tends to look toward its rock stars. Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, however, boldly demonstrates that he is certainly no Bono in a by-lined article he authored for the Times about his private concert at the Kremlin. It surpasses belief how an aging rock star can be so blissfully unaware of even the slightest problems in Russia under President Vladimir Putin. At the very least, Gillan claims that he asked Alexei Miller to push back the deadline for the gas cut-off to the Ukraine by eight hours so as not to spoil the concert. Given that Miller listened to him, perhaps we should all ask Gillan to solicit Medvedev to release Russia’s political prisoners? See a video of the performance here. From the Times:

A lot of Russian people of a certain generation learnt their English through hearing rock and pop songs on the radio. That’s how Medvedev got into Deep Purple. We used to play songs like Child in Time, which told them that there were people on the outside of their country who felt similarly disenchanted with their leaders. It’s quite refreshing now to see how things have loosened up in Russia. The gig at the Kremlin was fun but it wasn’t wild. If people aren’t used to going to rock shows they don’t know what the protocol is. It’s quite hard to go mental when you’re in a suit and you’ve just come from the office. But playing for a more reserved crowd is nothing new for us. We’ve played in Japan where they’re very reserved. The applause comes on and off like a tap and they all stand up and sit down at exactly the same time. (…)