The Ukrainian culture minister is demanding that West halt all Russian music and ballet performances and boycott other forms of Russian culture, because Ukraine is in a “civilizational battle.”
Oleksandr Tkachenko is arguing that Russia is engaging in a cultural war as well as a physical war against Ukraine and claims that the Russian armed forces have destroyed 800 objects from monuments to works of art and museums.
Brietbart reports: In an opinion article for the Guardian newspaper, Tkachenko wrote, “Russian culture has been used by members of the Kremlin to justify their terrible war,” and claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that Russia and Ukraine are “one nation.”
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
“Boycotting Russian culture is an important step. We’re not talking about cancelling Tchaikovsky, but rather about pausing performances of his works until Russia ceases its bloody invasion,” Tkachenko said and added that Ukrainian cultural venues have already banned Russian works.
“We’re calling on our allies to do the same. Already, many of the theatres and cultural venues that previously refused to perform Russian music or to cooperate with Russian artists who support the war have since renewed their ties,” he said and argued they should perform works by Ukrainians instead.
“Rejecting representatives of Russian culture who support its totalitarian regime and preventing concerts of Russian performers who openly support its war of aggression are conscious steps for a mature democratic society to take,” he said.
On Wednesday, pro-Ukrainine activists slammed Italy´s most famous opera house, Teatro alla Scala, for opening its new season with a performance of the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky’s
opera Boris Godunov after they and the Ukrainian consulate in Milan sent a letter demanding the opera house cancel the performance.
