President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of trying to cancel Russia’s rich musical and literary culture, including composers Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov, just as he said he canceled the “Harry Potter” author. , J.K. Rowling.
Speaking at a meeting with important cultural figures broadcast on national television, Putin complained about the cancellation of several Russian cultural events in recent weeks and compared it to actions taken by Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
“Not too long ago, children’s writer JK Rowling was also canceled because she became involved with issues of transphobia.”
“Today they are trying to cancel a whole thousand-year-old culture of our people,” he said. “I’m talking about the gradual discrimination against everything related to Russia.”
“The last time a mass campaign to destroy objectionable literature was carried out was by the Nazis in Germany nearly 90 years ago,” Putin said.
Several events involving Russian cultural figures who have expressed support for the war have been cancelled, including some involving Valery Gergiev, director general of St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater, who spoke to Putin during Friday’s meeting.
Gergiev was sacked as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic and lost his chance to conduct at Milan’s La Scala after failing to condemn the invasion of Russia.
The Royal Theater of Spain, one of Europe’s leading opera houses, canceled performances later this year of Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet. Auction houses Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonhams canceled sales of Russian art in London.
canceled events
A much smaller number of events were canceled due to their association with dead Russian cultural figures.
The Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra withdrew a concert of Tchaikovsky’s music from its program, and media reports said orchestras in Japan and Croatia made similar decisions.
Rowling quickly distanced herself from Putin, posting an article on Twitter criticizing the Kremlin and its treatment of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“Criticisms of Western cancel culture are possibly not better done by those who currently massacre civilians for the crime of resistance, or who imprison and poison their critics,” she wrote.
Russia has denied attacking civilians in what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, but Western powers say it has repeatedly struck civilian targets in what they call an unprovoked and unwarranted invasion.
The Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra said it was subjected to “hate speech and cruel remarks” after canceling Tchaikovsky’s concert.
“Basic humanity takes precedence over art and history,” he said in a Facebook post. “When the humanitarian crisis is over, the discussion of ‘waking up’ and ‘canceling culture’ can take its place.”
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
