“War destroys everything”: the Russian world of culture denounces the war in Ukraine

As the conflict in Ukraine enters its second week, more than 17,000 Russians from the world of culture have signed an open letter asking their government to withdraw troops, calling the war “senseless and unnecessary”.

“The argument behind this pseudo-‘special military operation’ is an invention fashioned entirely by Russian power. We oppose this war which is being waged in our name,” they write.

Internationally prominent Russian artists have also denounced the Russian invasion. On February 25, Kirill Petrenko, conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, called Vladimir Putin’s actions an “insidious attack on Ukraine”.

And nearly 20 musicians have made statements against the war in the classical music magazine Van. “What do I feel here? Pain, desolation, shame,” wrote pianist Polina Osetinskaya.

Artists Kirill Savchenkov and Alexandra Sukhareva have themselves pulled out of the Venice Biennale saying on Instagram : “There is no place for art when civilians are dying under missile fire.”

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“Some support the war”

Such outspoken opposition to decisions made by the Russian president is rare and dangerous. According to independent monitoring group OVD-Infonearly 11,000 people have been arrested for taking part in anti-war protests in Russia since February 24, including more than 2,500 on Sunday March 6.

On March 4, the Russian parliament stepped up the pressure by passing a new law that provides for tougher penalties for public dissent. Russians caught discrediting the armed forces, spreading “false information” or calling for demonstrations now risk heavy penalties.

“The stakes are high”, confirms to France 24 Natalia Prilutskaya, researcher at Amnesty International Russia. “The problems they could face range from losing their jobs to administrative charges but also criminal charges, which involve 15 years imprisonment in the worst case scenario and very heavy fines.”

At the same time, increasing media restrictions in Russia make it unlikely that the voices of opponents of the regime will emerge. Some have already been targeted by online posts showing their photo with words like “traitor” or “enemy”.

“We don’t know exactly who is behind it, it could be just one person or a Telegram network,” says Natalia Prilutskaya. “What is really worrying is that there are groups in society that support the war. And we can expect that there will be action if some want to attack to those who speak out.”

Most of the 17,000 signatories to the letter are museum curators or art critics working in the cultural sector, not well known enough to be threatened. But that doesn’t mean they’re out of danger. “Ordinary people risk a lot, especially those who live in small towns. There are all kinds of dangers they have to face,” says Natalia Prilutskaya. “But they still felt it was necessary to talk.”

Canceled contracts

Meanwhile, in Western countries, Russian artists were quickly pushed aside.

Russian delegations, already excluded from international events such as the Eurovision Song Contest, are also boycotted by the Cannes, Glasgow and Stockholm film festivals.

In New York and London, opera houses and concert halls have canceled performances by Russian groups and ballets. The Metropolitan Opera in New York added that it would no longer work with artists or institutions that support Vladimir Putin’s policies.

In the Netherlands, the Hermitage Amsterdam, a subsidiary of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, has severed its ties with the Russian institution. “War destroys everything. Even 30 years of collaboration,” Hermitage Amsterdam said in a statement on March 3.

A general rejection of Russian art and culture poses risks, warns Natalia Prilutskaya. “Russian propaganda is smart enough to pervert what’s going on, so it can say, ‘We’ve been telling you for ages, the West is against Russia as a whole, not against Putin or any oligarch. but against Russia.'”

“An act of cowardice”

Some Russian artists have already found themselves caught between the demands of Western cultural institutions and those of the Russian authorities.

On Tuesday, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra fired famed conductor Valery Gergiev for refusing to speak out against the invasion in Ukraine. He has been dating President Putin for 30 years and has supported him for a long time. He was also fired from his position as honorary conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.

Opera star Anna Netrebko has also lost her engagements in Germany, Switzerland and the United States due to her ties to Vladimir Putin. The soprano had celebrated her 50^and birthday by singing in the Kremlin and had also publicly supported the Russian president during the 2012 presidential election.

In a message posted on Facebook, Anna Netrebko has since indicated that she is “opposed to the war” but refrained from mentioning the name of Vladimir Putin. She clarified, “I am not a political figure. Forcing artists or any public figure to express their political opinion in public and denounce their homeland is not fair.”

Still, because of her strong ties to Vladimir Putin, the Metropolitan Opera in New York says it’s “difficult to imagine a scenario” in which Anna Netrebko could perform on its stage again.

“One of the arguments is that art and politics should be separated. But not speaking out about this particular situation implies that you support the war and its brutal, unnecessary and senseless massacres,” said Natalia Prilutskaya. “Some very famous artists have enjoyed their closeness to the Russian power for a long time. Maybe they are okay with what is happening (in Ukraine). Or is it an act of cowardice when they are probably in a much better position than many of those 17,000 people who signed the open letter?”

While the balance of power may be working against them, cultural professionals who have spoken out against the war are not alone in Russia. The world of health launched its own open letter, which collected 15,000 signatures as of February 28. Some 30,000 IT professionals and 600 scientists have also made use of this type of initiative.

In a country of 144 million people, these acts are still what Natalia Prilutskaya calls “little shoots” of resistance that need support to grow stronger. But “there is hope,” she said. “The stronger the anti-war movement, the more likely it is that at least the Russian offensive will wane.”

“The scale of the protests and the fact that there are all these letters from different categories of society is unprecedented,” said the researcher.

Article adapted in French by Nicolas Bamba. The original in English can be read here.