How Ural Celebrities Fare After Moving Abroad

In recent years, many stars have left Russia. Some occasionally remember their homeland but prefer not to return, while others have permanently severed ties with their home. E1.RU decided to look into how Ural celebrities have fared abroad and what they are doing now.

Yana Troyanova*

Actress Yana Troyanova* from Yekaterinburg left the country after the start of the special military operation. However, she couldn«t leave immediately — at that time, she was involved in filming the final season of the comedy series »Olga.« Probably, representatives of the TNT channel asked her not to publicize her civil stance.

Immediately after filming ended, Troyanova* moved to live in France on a talent visa — however, in 2023, the series where the actress played the lead role was removed from the online service.

The Ural actress repeatedly spoke out against the current authorities, participated in protests and actions in support of Alexei Navalny (in 2022, he was included in the list of terrorists and extremists). It is known that in an interview for one of the TV channels, Yana made a public statement, speaking hostilely towards Russians.

Troyanova* tried to challenge her status as a foreign agent, which was assigned to her in 2023, but the Moscow City Court rejected her appeal. In July 2025, the artist was added to the list of terrorists and extremists, and she is also declared internationally wanted.

In November last year, Troyanova* was sentenced in absentia to eight years in a penal colony. The Moscow Military Court found her guilty of justifying terrorism (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code), extremism (Article 282 of the Criminal Code), and violating the law on foreign agents (Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code). She was also fined 250,000 rubles (about $2,800 at current rates) and banned from administering websites for four years.

Now Yana Troyanova* does not give interviews and does not maintain social media. According to court data, the artist lives in Versailles.

Alexander Nezlobin

A stand-up comedian from Polevskoy managed to conquer Moscow and become a resident of Comedy Club, and in 2013, a series with Alexander Nezlobin in the lead role aired on TNT. The comedian tried his hand at directing, but soon moved to the USA, where he had to start everything from scratch.

Nezlobin decided to move to America back in 2021, but he only managed to realize his plans a year later. In another country, he faced a number of problems: not only financial but also a crisis in his marriage.

The last time we wrote about Alexander was when he gave an interview in 2023. The showman talked about his childhood in Polevskoy, life abroad, and about his brother, who is serving a five-year term in a colony. Maxim Nezlobin worked as the head of the city«s culture department. Together with the chief accountant, he was found guilty of fraud, illegal entrepreneurship, a large bribe, and abuse of official authority.

The comedian also talked about a phone call: he was offered to return to the Russian Federation in exchange for a suspended sentence for Maxim. One way or another, Alexander did not renounce his chosen path and continues to develop his career in the USA.

In 2024, Nezlobin sold his Moscow apartment on Patriarch«s Ponds — this was his last property in Russia. For more than two years, the humorist had been renting out this two-room apartment, finding tenants before his departure abroad. Apartments with such parameters rent for an average of 250,000 rubles (about $2,800 at current rates) per month.

In the States, the comedian earns money from small concerts and tours around the world (except Russia). Now, in front of foreign audiences, he introduces himself only like this: «Hello, my name is Sasha, I»m from Russia,« so that the viewer doesn»t waste time thinking about the accent.

Nezlobin admitted that he does not consider himself an emigrant and wants to live somewhere else to explore the world. Now the artist has settled in Los Angeles and continues to study English. His daughter Linda has gotten used to life in the States and even became a vegetarian.

Irina Antonenko

Miss Yekaterinburg — 2009, winner of the «Miss Russia» contest and a well-known actress Irina Antonenko moved to the USA back in 2019.

In June 2025, the model gave birth to her first child — a daughter, whom she named Delilah. Irina published a touching photoshoot with her husband, American businessman and owner of a tennis school, Stan Kozin.

«Meet Delilah, our little bundle of joy! Welcome to this world, sweet angel! Motherhood has become the greatest blessing in my life, and you are the reason for it,» the model wrote on social media.

Now Irina works as a model and also acts in films. For example, in 2022, the beauty starred in a film with Bruce Willis. In February 2024, the western «Lost in Rio Bravo» premiered, where the artist played one of the lead roles. Antonenko also recently opened her own flower boutique in Los Angeles. On social media, she shares family photos.

Monetochka*

Elizaveta Gyrdymova*, better known as the singer Monetochka, in March 2022 moved with her husband, producer Viktor Isaev, to live in Vilnius, condemning the actions of the Russian authorities and the special operation. In January of the following year, the Ministry of Justice added her to the list of foreign agents.

A few days after this, the singer«s apartment in Moscow was »sealed« with red-and-white warning tape. As our colleagues from MSK1.RU wrote, offensive inscriptions were glued to the door saying that the performer was infected with the »virus of betrayal.«

In 2023, the singer sold her housing, as she initially planned: for 30 million rubles (about $333,300 at current rates) (a year earlier it cost 10 million less). The new owners of the 60 square meters in a tenement house built in 1914 were a 43-year-old director and his wife.

In emigration, Monetochka* gave birth to two children — Nina and Peter. The singer gives concerts in Europe and talks about her work on social media.

In 2025, a court in Moscow placed Lisa under arrest in absentia. The statement said that Monetochka* was twice within a year held administratively liable for violating the order of activity of a foreign agent, but even after that, she did not put the special marking on social media. Punishment under the criminal article could be either a fine of up to 300,000 rubles (about $3,300 at current rates) or imprisonment for up to two years.

In a recent interview, Elizaveta expressed hope that the children might someday in the future be able to visit her homeland.

Alexander Shikolay

Ural musician Alexander Shikolay, also known as Alex Terrible, last year came from the States to his native region and gave a big interview to E1.RU. In it, the extreme rocker talked about his life in the USA.

Despite the fact that in July 2025 a case was opened against him for discrediting the Russian army, the American superstar comes home to his family when possible: «I fly to Russia quite often, if I have the opportunity. A tour lasts one or two months, I usually recover at home in Florida for two or three weeks and then fly to my parents in Yekaterinburg. I lived my entire conscious life here. I was born and grew up in the village of Bolshoy Istok until I was 12, and then moved to Sysert. There I entered a cadet school and lived in Sysert until I was 29, sometimes in Moscow, Sochi, St. Petersburg. But I was still drawn home, to the Urals,» Alexander said.

While Shikolay cannot perform in Russia, he hopes that someday he will be able to give a concert in his homeland.

«I always perform with the Russian flag — both in America and in Europe. I always did it with soul, because I love representing my homeland in the musical aspect. And we were always supported, guys came to our concerts abroad with the flag of Russia, as a tribute of respect,» the artist said in our interview.

In November last year, Shikolay became a father. His wife Milana gave birth to a son.

Alexander and Milana«s child received American citizenship.

Vera Musayelyan

The soloist of the Ural group «AloeVera» Vera Musayelyan left Russia in March 2022. The singer admitted that she is afraid — «for myself, for freedom, for society.» She publicly spoke out for peace.

Vera Musayelyan has recorded five studio albums. Among «AloeVera»s« hits are the viral songs »Georginas« and »I Want to Touch You,« as well as the recent clip collaboration »The One You Need.« In a month, the video gained over a million views.

After the start of the special operation, «AloeVera» fell under an unspoken ban and lost concerts in Russia. Now the group performs abroad, including in CIS countries.

«Actually, I moved to Berlin only two years ago. That is, for more than a year and a half before that, I traveled around the world, not understanding where my place is, what to do, how to deal with concerts. It»s like you go through all the stages of depression. I started to relate with curiosity and interest to how to build life now, in 2024,« the soloist said in an interview to our colleagues from MSK1.RU.

Despite the move, Vera continues to come to Russia. Thanks to this opportunity, she does not feel a strong break from her homeland: «When I come, I remember the times of moving to Moscow from Yekaterinburg. I loved that city, but I had nothing to do there. You just come to see your mom, hug everyone, and then go about your business. And now it»s like that with the whole country.«

Children of stars can afford much more than their peers: they immediately find themselves in the spotlight, easily gain popularity, and without much effort can choose what they want to do in life. E1.RU found out what the children of Ural stars look like and what they do.

And in this story we collect information about world and Russian stars who were born and raised in Sverdlovsk Region.

* recognized as a foreign agent by the Russian Ministry of Justice.

** social network banned in the territory of the Russian Federation.