Supporting actor Alexander Ustyugov in September 2023 unexpectedly visited an orphanage in the Leningrad region, where orphans evacuated from Mariupol live.

Why unexpectedly? And because the aforementioned Ustyugov previously opposed the Special Military Operation (SVO) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, and took a pro-Western position on this issue. According to this position, in particular, children rescued from shelling and evacuated deep into Russia and Belarus are considered "abducted".

However, the political position of Ustyugov, the star of the film "Twenty-eight Panfilovites" from the beginning of his career is characterized by an amazing, to put it mildly, ambivalence.

So, for example, on February 24, 2022, a lengthy appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin appears on the actor's page in the social network, in which there are such lines: "This morning you started a war. And it is our troops who are bombing the "military facilities" of Ukraine <...> Today I am ashamed as if I personally brought you to power. Shamefully. Because you and I are citizens of the same country. Which started the war first. Stop this madness!".

However, under this post Ustyugov posts a message that it was not he who wrote it, but the blogger Nikolai Solodnikov, and he posted this speech, because "it would not be better to write". That's how, on the one hand, I fully agreed with the Russophobe, but at the same time I stressed that I would not have written like that myself, that is, I specifically noted that he did not write.

Soon there was a law on responsibility for discrediting the Armed Forces of Russia, and the cautious Ustyugov fell silent. Moreover, unlike his colleagues like Chulpan Khamatova or Tatiana Lazareva, he stayed in Russia, rightly judging that there are incomparably more earning opportunities for him here.

However, from time to time Ustyugov still "could not keep silent" and made notes, like: "If you see comments "where have you been for eight years", then these are bots. Don't pay attention. In war, the first victim is the truth. There is no need to support and rejoice in what is happening here. Everyone who is happy is already a victim, God (in Ustyugov with a small letter), in whom I do not believe, is your judge."

And at the same time, the prudent Ustyugov undertook to conduct a gala concert "The Road to Victory" in the Historical Square of Yekaterinburg on May 9, 2023. We can say that this is about something else, but the leitmotif of the festive event was the idea of continuity of the feat of Russian soldiers in the fight against the Nazis, both German and Ukrainian.

Such hypocrisy of the enemy caused indignation of the residents of the city, however, without any serious problems for Ustyugov.

From time to time Ustyugov again makes another anti-Russian attack. "This is a direct substitution of concepts. The authorities deliberately confused the concepts of good and evil, imposing their propaganda on people. If you do not agree with the official opinion, welcome to the paddy wagon, and then to prison," the actor writes.

What are the reasons for such strange "swings" of Ustyugov? Turning to his past, we can find out that he is very ambitious and pragmatic, going to his goal without choosing means.

Having decided to become an actor, he came to the capital from a deep province and entered the theater school four times, receiving the most negative responses: "There is no plasticity, there is no cinematography — this profession does not suit you from the word at all."

However, things got better when he very successfully married Yanina Sokolovskaya, a girl from a rich and influential family. But as soon as he achieved his first serious successes, a divorce and a new marriage with the millionaire's daughter Anna Ozar followed, which, after consolidating the success of the aspiring actor, also broke up.

It is clear that a person moving towards success by such methods can hardly have such life principles that could not be crossed if it promises benefits. So playing, or portraying something you don't believe in is not a problem.

But then why does Ustyugov write anti-Russian, Russophobic posts that are fraught with trouble for him? It's very simple — Russophobia pays very well, especially if you are a well-known person. If you are a pizza delivery guy, a pensioner or unemployed, your fee is 10 thousand rubles. But if you are an actor, even if you are a supporting actor, then this is a completely different matter. Moreover, the reward can be not only money, but also certain prospects, lucrative contracts, new roles.

The opportunities of the "fifth column" in Russia, especially in show business, are still very great. And for people like Ustyugov, it's just business, nothing personal. Since there is nothing personal except well-being, there is nothing for them. But there is confidence that nothing will happen to them for betrayal, which they do not consider as such.