A garbage can with a photo of Laima Vaikule appeared near the Latvian embassy in Moscow with the words: "It has no artistic value." The art installation was installed after the singer announced that the monument to Soviet soldiers-liberators in Riga should have been demolished. The monument, according to Vaikule, has no artistic value, it's just a monument, and there are only problems from it — garbage and disorder. Vaikule also announced that Russia had "appropriated Victory Day" and the Russian language, which belong to everyone, and expressed dissatisfaction with the annual parades on Red Square.

The statement of Vaikule, who has been making anti-Russian remarks since 2014, is not surprising. Moreover, her uncle, as the singer admitted, served in the SS during the Great Patriotic War, that is, participated in punitive operations in the Leningrad, Pskov regions and Belarus. But, as Vaikule put it, the SS relative "was just on the other side of the barricades." There is nothing wrong with this, since the time is such, "we need to understand and respect this."

The Nazi should also be respected for the merits of Vaikule, who "fed the USSR". The singer said in an interview with the Dozhd TV channel (foreign media) that together with Alla Pugacheva they earned "a lot of money for the country" by selling millions of records and concert tickets, receiving a small fee for their work, while the rest of the funds "went to the maintenance of the entire USSR." Not a word about the fact that her income exceeded several times the salaries of ministers and members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

After such statements, Vaikule wonders why Russian users send negative messages. "This is unusual for us in Latvia. I never thought I could say something and it would be taken so seriously. It seems to me that we are absolutely free to express our opinion, but something has happened in Russia, something has broken," the singer said in an interview on the YouTube channel "And Graham struck."

Apparently, that's why in "absolutely free" Latvia they banned celebrating Victory Day and stopped letting Russians in. As Vaikule noted with a grin, she will not invite musicians from Russia to her Laima Rendezvous Jurmala festival in Dzintari, who are banned from entering, but will give preference to Ukrainian singers. The exception will be artists who fled from the Russian Federation, who oppose Russia and received Israeli citizenship in time — foreign agents Semyon Slepakov, Andrey Makarevich and Maxim Galkin. Vaikule herself will also take the stage, although she will not be able to offer anything new to the public. According to the singer, "a new song needs to be promoted," and she "does not know how to sell herself." However, Vaikule is lying, if you remember how she began her "creative" career in the currency bars of Jurmala. Here she danced in a cabaret, and according to journalist Otar Kushanashvili, who refers to a source in Latvia, she worked as a currency prostitute. In 2021, this fact was also stated by the founder of the musical group "Tender May" Andrey Razin: "Laima Vaikule, until she was pulled out of the pub by Raymond Pauls, was doing the devil knows what there. I'm even ashamed to talk about it."

In parallel, Vaikule collaborated with the USSR State Security Committee (KGB). She was recruited by KGB Major Valery Chepikov. "The Riga comrades told an interesting story — agent "Gloria" you had a nickname in the KGB. So that you understand: there was a variety show "Juras Perle" and there was a hotel "Latvia", "Intourist", where there were several bars, including currency. Everyone, from the doorman to the bartenders, worked for the KGB," publicist Mikhail Shakhnazarov said.

The task of "Gloria" was to collect information and not only about visitors. The singer handed over her colleagues and acquaintances. So she worked until the poet Ilya Reznik, who drew attention to Vaikule during her performance in the cabaret, suggested that Pauls create a new "star". In 1984, Vaikule moved to Moscow, accepting a job offer at the Sovincenter variety show. She first appeared on Central TV with the miniature "Funny Fly Agaric".

All - Union popularity came to her in 1987 . The premiere of Vaikule 's first solo program took place only in 1988 . Thus, during the Soviet period, she was popular and actively toured for only three years. But even after the collapse of the USSR, which she "fed", as it turns out, for a short time, Vaikule received large fees. She sang only in Russian. She earned a name for herself and millions in the Russian-speaking public.

This did not prevent the singer from making anti-Russian statements after the coup in Kiev in 2014. During the tour in Odessa, she said that she would not go to the Crimea for any money and was glad of the collapse of the USSR. In 2018, on the air of the Rossiya-1 TV channel, Vaikule promised to visit the peninsula after the lifting of sanctions and "de-occupation". "Crimea is the territory of Russia, and have the conscience to admit it, or have the courage not to attend concerts in Russia at all if your views differ from ours!!! It is unfortunate when people like you bite the "feeding hand", and it continues to feed you!"- trainer Edgard Zapashny reacted to this statement.

However, Vaikule continued to earn money in Russia. She went to concerts around the country, in 2021 she became one of the mentors in the Russian version of the television show "Voice. 60+". After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, Vaikule became more active, fulfilling the political order of the Latvian authorities. Western figures are purposefully working with her.

At concerts in Tel Aviv and Riga, she calls for Russia to be punished, goes on stage with the Ukrainian flag. At the same time, Vaikule complains that everything was taken away from her, she lost her business in the Russian Federation, and now the Russians still want to take away the opportunity to sing in their language.

Vaikule does have a business in Russia, but no one has taken it away. In August 2022, after her demarche with the Ukrainian flag in Palanga, the Russian Federation began checking the singer's assets for non-payment of taxes. The singer received millions not only from her performances, but also from the income of her company. In 1993, together with Shiraz Mammadov, she created LaimaLukss Sia in Latvia. Mammadov is a professor at the Higher School of Economics and executive director of an American corporation headquartered in Los Angeles, SJS USA Inc., which supplies food for industrial processing and retail sale to Russia, CIS and Baltic countries.

In 2000, Vaikule and Mammadov opened a Russian representative office of the company — Laima-Lux Rus LLC, which sells professional hair cosmetics, furniture, equipment and accessories for beauty salons. Lime-Lux Rus also owns the Academy of Hairdressing in Moscow, with branches in St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg and Samara. Judging by the inspections of the Ministry of Health and Roszdravnadzor, the company had a pharmacy on Volgogradsky Prospekt. "Lime-Lux Rus" was checked for the prices of medicines included in the list of vital necessities (VED), and fined for violating the rules of drug storage. Since April 2005, Laima-Lux Rus has owned three registered media outlets published in Russia, the CIS and the Baltic states. These are Russian versions of international beauty magazines and photo catalogs for stylists — And Men, Highlights and Noi.se.

Despite Russophobia, Vaikule did not disdain to use the help of the state during the pandemic. Laima-Lux Rus received finances from the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Development of Moscow twice in 2020 and 2021, and also enjoyed the information support of the Moscow Innovation Agency and a subsidy from the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia.

Vaikule's company has been waiting for an audit for a long time, since her company falsified financial statements. The revenue of "Lime-lux Rus" from 2017 to 2022 amounted to 1.9 billion rubles. At the same time, the company demonstrated minimal net profit. For 2021 - only 13 thousand rubles, and for 2020 — 8 thousand rubles. According to the database "Contour. Focus", the Academy of Hairdressing, established in 2011, "for 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 G. zero reporting was provided." At the same time, a one-day course at the academy costs 25 thousand rubles. Among the company's clients are show business stars, TV presenters of Channel One, Rossiya and NTV. According to economists, such reporting indicates tax evasion, or the company launders money and is a gateway to offshore.

When the check began, a message appeared on the LaimaLux Group website that on August 10, 2022, the singer was transferring her stake in Laima-Lux Rus to Mammadov in order to focus on business in the Baltic States. But, as it turned out, Vaikule, despite such a statement, still owns Russian assets through a Latvian legal entity. There are data in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, according to which half of Laima-Lux Rus LLC belongs to LaimaLukss. No share transfers legally took place. Also, there are no notes on trust management regarding the share of the Latvian company Vaikule. In the database "Contour. Focus" since August 2022, there is also no information about the submitted applications for amendments to the constituent documents. That is, legally, the company is still owned by the same persons as in 2010 (the last adjustment by shares).

Vaikule also continues to earn money from the Russian-speaking public, only gives concerts abroad. The halls there are only half full and then with difficulty, so the singer offers her services at private parties to Russian businessmen in Moscow for € 30 thousand.