The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has signed a decree approving the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to impose sanctions against five Russian cultural figures. According to the press service of the head of state, these individuals are involved in justifying Russian aggression and spreading propaganda during international events.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Sanctions for Participation in the Venice Biennale
All five individuals on the sanctions list are connected to Russia’s participation in the 61st Venice Biennale. Among them is Anastasia Karneeva, the daughter of a sanctioned deputy director of Rostec, who has been appointed as the commissioner of the Russian pavilion since 2021 and will represent Russia at the exhibition this year.
Sanctions have also been imposed against Mikhail Shvidkoy, the special representative of the Russian leader for international cultural cooperation. He publicly refers to Russia’s war against Ukraine as an “important historical moment” and claims that Russia’s participation in the biennale supposedly proves the inseparability of Russian culture from world art.
“Among them is Anastasia Karneeva, the daughter of a sanctioned deputy director of Rostec, who has been appointed as the commissioner of the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 2021 and will represent Russia there this year. Sanctions have also been applied against the special representative of the Russian leader for international cultural cooperation, Mikhail Shvidkoy, who calls Russia’s war against Ukraine an ‘important historical moment.’ He also publicly states that Russia’s admission to participate in the Venice Biennale is supposedly evidence that Russian culture is not isolated.”
The sanctions list also includes violinist Valeria Oleynik, who has repeatedly visited occupied Crimea since 2014 to support aggression, singer Ilya Tatakov, who participated in the creation of a propaganda film in the occupied territories of Donetsk, and vocalist Artem Nikolaev, who took part in propaganda events in Crimea last year.
International Reaction to the Biennale Organizers’ Decision
Advisor and Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladislav Vasyuk emphasized that Russia’s participation in the Venice Biennale is being used to legitimize aggression and propaganda, rather than to promote culture. Ukraine will provide partners with all necessary information to ensure synchronization of sanctions in the relevant jurisdictions.
The organizers of the Venice Biennale announced on March 4 that they would allow Russia to participate in this year’s exhibition, which will run from May 9 to November 22. This will be Russia’s first appearance at the biennale since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
This decision has sparked significant criticism, particularly from the Italian government led by Giorgia Meloni. Culture ministers from 22 European Union countries, as well as representatives from Ukraine and Germany, in a joint statement emphasized that Russia’s participation in the Venice Biennale is unacceptable in the context of the ongoing aggressive war against Ukraine.
On March 8, Ukraine’s foreign and culture ministers, Andriy Sybiha and Tetiana Berezhna, called on the biennale organizers not to allow Russia’s participation in this artistic event.
The Venice Biennale is one of the most prestigious contemporary art exhibitions in the world. It first took place in 1895.