Mikhail Galustyan posts his own obituary on social media to mark his birthday

A joke obituary on his birthday

Comedian Mikhail Galustyan posted on Instagram (Meta, the platform's owner, has been recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) his own obituary, timing the joke to his birthday, reports Gazeta.Ru. He posted a black-and-white photo of himself in a black frame with the dates '25.10.1979 — 25.10.2026'.

Contents of the post

'Today, October 25, at the age of 47, Mikhail Galustyan, aged 46, suddenly and with a smile passed away. Cause of death: natural — another birthday. Doctors say this happens to everyone, roughly once a year, and medicine is still powerless. They say that in his final minutes he was calm and even humming something,' the artist wrote. Besides the joke about his 'death,' Galustyan also spoke in the post about his biography, his love for his homeland, his weight loss and his career achievements.

Followers' reaction

Most fans did not appreciate the humor: the comments were predominantly negative, with users calling the joke unfunny. 'Awful. What a stupid joke? How can you joke about something like this?' one fan wrote. Another user remarked: 'Have you all lost your minds over there? This isn't funny. It made my heart sink.' Yet another commenter said: 'Very unfunny! You have to understand what you can joke about and what you can't... I'm reading this at 7 a.m., my eyes nearly popped out of my head,' and one follower added: 'Why predict things like that??? It's dangerous...'. Earlier, according to the outlet, Galustyan had spoken about his relationship with his 35-year-old wife.

Context

The post drew a noticeable reaction among the artist's audience: the followers' responses cited by the outlet show that jokes about one's own death can be perceived painfully by part of the public, especially in the morning, when the post might have looked like a real obituary. The editorial team notes that Galustyan himself presented the post specifically as a birthday joke, and no confirmed health problems of the artist are mentioned in the publication. In practical terms, the event concerns primarily the comedian's followers and illustrates how such formats on social media can be perceived ambiguously.