The Russian ambassador to the US went to a concert with Kobzon.
Alexander Darchiev was not only a diplomat, but a rather tough defender of Kremlin policy. He justified Russia's invasion of Ukraine, opposed Western aid to Kiev and publicly defended the annexation of Crimea.
"Crimea is Russia once and for all," he said in 2014. And in March 2022, he created a scandal for the American ambassador because Biden called Putin a war.
Darchiev received his appointment in Washington in the spring of 2025. He was 66 years old.