Putin Says West Wants to Ban Entire Russian Culture

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the West is trying to ban all of Russian culture. Putin’s remarks prompted the cancellation of several Russian cultural events in recent weeks, which he compared to the actions of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

 

According to Putin, the cancellation, or ‘cancellation’ of Russian culture, also affects the works of great composers such as Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. “These days, they are trying to cancel an entire millennial culture, our people,” Putin said during a TV broadcast where he spoke with some prominent cultural figures. “I’m talking about the gradual discrimination against everything to do with Russia. A trend that is unfolding in a number of Western countries.”

In recent weeks, events have been cancelled in the West involving Russian cultural figures who have expressed support for the war. For example, this happened with some classical music performances involving Valeri Gergiëv, general director of the Marinsky Theater St. Petersburg; Gergiev was also fired as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic and lost the opportunity to conduct at La Scala in Milan. This is because, after failing to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Another example of a cancellation due to its association with Russian cultural figures is that of the Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra, which cancelled Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture earlier this month. And Spain’s Teatro Real, one of Europe’s largest opera houses, recently cancelled performances by the Russian Bolshoy Ballet. In addition, auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s have suspended sales of Russian art in London.

In addition to Nazi censorship of the 1930s, Putin compared the treatment of Russian cultural figures to that of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. She became the subject of fierce public debate after her comments on transgender issues.