Yevgeny Vaganovich Petrosyan (russian: Евге́ний Вага́нович Петрося́н, hy, Եվգենի Վահանի Պետրոսյան (Պետրոսյանց); born 16 September 1945) is a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n comedian of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descents. In 2005 he was named among the most influential figures in contemporary Russia, in a survey conducted by independent polling agency The Levada Centre. A popular comedian since the days of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, Petrosyan was the host of TV variety show ''Crooked Mirror''. In January 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Yevgeny for his support of

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

Personal life

Yevgeny was married to actress and humorist

Yelena Stepanenko Yelena Grigorievna Stepanenko (russian: Еле́на Григо́рьевна Степане́нко; born April 8, 1953, Stalingrad

(born 1953). Their engagement was in 1985. On August 3, 2018, the Russian mass media announced that Yevgeny and Yelena are getting divorced. They had made 1.5 billion rubles together while married and that money will now be divided among the two by the court of law.

Controversy

During a New Year celebration 2023, Petrosyan openly supported the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. He claimed that the "West tried to destroy Russia", exlcaimed that "the one thing you can't cook

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

borscht Borscht () is a sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word "borscht" is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukraine, Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, wh ...

, French

onion soup Onion soup is a type of vegetable soup with sliced onions as the main ingredient. It is prepared in different variations in many different countries, the most famous of which is the French onion soup or Parisian onion soup. Because of the affor ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

bratwurst Bratwurst () is a type of German sausage made from pork or, less commonly, beef or veal. The name is derived from the Old High German ''Brätwurst'', from ''brät-'', finely chopped meat, and ''Wurst'', sausage, although in modern German it is o ...

without? Without Russian Gas!" and declared "Like it or not, Russia is enlarging."

References

External links

Yevgeny Petrosyan at the Forbes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrosyan, Yevgeny 1945 births Russian humorists Living people Entertainers from Baku Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Russian male comedians Armenian comedians Russian satirists Armenian satirists Russian television presenters Soviet television presenters Armenian television presenters Russian male television actors Soviet male television actors Armenian male television actors Russian people of Armenian descent Russian people of Jewish descent Russian humour