Union and reprimanded for "political short sightedness," after he performed Jewish songs during an international friendship concert, which resulted in the Arab delegations leaving in protest. However, the following year, (1984) his reputation was restored, as he was honored with the USSR State Prize. Joseph Kobzon has performed in solo concerts in most cities of the former USSR. He was also bestowed the rare honour of performing international concerts tours as a representative of USSR in United States, Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Argentina, Israel, Republic of the Congo, Zaire, Angola, Nigeria, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, (Germany), Greece, and Finland. Throughout his career, he has shared the stage with many Western superstars, including the likes of Liza Minnelli and Julio Iglesias. Since May 1995, Kobzon and his entire family was banned from entering the United States due to his allegedly close associations with drug trafficking, illicit arms trading, and Russian mafia in Moscow especially Viktor Nikiforov (Kalina) (), Otari Kvantrishvili (Otarik, Krivonos), Alexander Zakharov (Zakhar), Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov (Taiwanchik) and Vyacheslav Ivankov (Yaponchik). Although he officially ended his international touring career in 1997, he continued to appear in regular concerts before audiences around the world and was frequently seen on Russian television. Public life On many occasions, Kobzon performed in disaster areas and military hot-spots such as Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan War, and Chechnya during the Chechen War. In 1986, Kobzon was the first celebrity to visit and perform in the town of Chernobyl to cheer the nuclear reactor rescuers. Two years later, Kobzon was the first celebrity to visit and perform for victims of the 1988 Armenian earthquake. Kobzon has been active in Russian politics since 1989. He was an experienced Russian MP and enjoyed landslide election victories. His first major political achievement (1989–1991) transpired when his promotion of Jewish culture in the USSR aided the establishment of diplomatic ties between USSR and Israel. For many years, Kobzon has presided over numerous charitable organisations. Since 1989, he has been Chairman of The Movement for Honour and Dignity of Russian Citizens. He is also the president of the Humanitarian Initiatives Fund, and the president of a charitable fund known as ‘Shield and Lira" which is devoted to helping families of those killed and injured in action while on law enforcement duties. He was Chairman of the Public Council of Moscow's Police Department, and leader of his political party "The Russian