The end of October always means the beginning of preparations for the main holiday of the year.

Filming of New Year's programs has begun, which will delight Russians on the most magical night of the year.

And already in early December, television viewers will be treated to the legendary “Song of the Year” concert, which will also decorate New Year’s Eve.

In recent days, it has become known which artists will give concerts in the holiday program.

Among them are such stars as Grigory Leps, Philip Kirkorov, Irina Allegrova and many others.

This wide range of artists promises to make New Year's Eve an eventful and vibrant one. However, not all stars agreed to become part of the New Year's magic.

One of the main surprises was the absence of Kristina Orbakaite from the screens. The artist, who decided to spend time in the USA with her family, will not delight the public with her participation in holiday filming this year.

This decision was unexpected, because Christina has always been an active participant in New Year's events.

It is implied that she probably wanted to leave Russia earlier, but was held back by contractual obligations and perhaps fear of losing substantial royalties.

Another star who decided to refrain from congratulating the Russians was Valery Leontyev. This is the second year in a row that the artist does not take part in New Year's filming.

After the events of the spring of 2022, Leontyev never returned to his homeland. There were rumors among fans about possible health problems with the singer, however, according to information from Leontyev’s director, Boris Chigirev, all the rumors have no basis in reality.

On the eve of the New Year holidays, Kristina Orbakaite decided to share with fans moments from her life outside of Russia. She recently published rare footage from her life in exile.

The video captures a family outing - Christina and her husband Mikhail Zemtsov attended a concert of the legendary group Depeche Mode.