The Minister of Culture and Informational Policy of Ukraine, Mr. Oleksandr Tkachenko, together with the Gallerists Association, hundreds of organisations, and thousands of cultural activists, have issued a petition to demand the #culturalsanctions that would limit Russia’s presence within the international cultural arena.
The Russian Federation has purposefully and maliciously violated existing international standards and agreements, using culture as part of the propaganda toolbox. Cultural sanctions will limit propaganda methods and help the Ukrainian and global media show Russian people an accurate picture of the invasion.
«Under the disguised greatness of well-known Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, Rachmaninoff and Glinka. Russia’s cultural policy aims to justify the government’s horrific and criminal actions. By instrumentalising culture, the Russian government is cynically killing the civilian population in Ukraine, destroying the objects of our cultural heritage, and trying to deny the very existence of Ukrainian culture and the Ukrainian state.
Cultural sanctions and worldwide ban of Russian art heritage will deprive the aggressor of another propaganda tool and social influence, thus encouraging the country’s all conscious influential artists to go to rallies against the war and stop Putin’s bloody policy», says Oleksandr Tkachenko, the Minister of Culture and Informational Policy of Ukraine.
For the sake of Ukraine, and with the aim of upholding and saving the principles of peace and order, the Ukrainian cultural community led by Oleksandr Tkachenko are calling for the international cultural community to make precise actions towards the Russian Federation, which include the following:
- cancelling all of the projects that involve the Russian Federation (including the ones with Russian funds);
- banning representatives of the Russian Federation from participation in international competitions (e.g., the Eurovision ban), exhibitions, forums, music and film festivals, and other cultural events;
- removing Russians from the supervisory boards and cultural partnerships, cancelling sponsorships and withdrawing organisational support;
- eliminating coverage of Russian culture in the media;
The full list of proposed sanctions is available via the link https://arts.gov.ua/urge-to-impose-cultural-sanctions/
«As art has always been at the forefront of humane values, our culture and art communities highly appreciate the position of some Russian artists who openly condemned the aggression and military actions of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The culture cannot serve propaganda purposes but rather should develop critical thinking and seek dialogue. Thus we call on the international art community to join us and help restore peace», adds Oleksandr Tkachenko, the Minister of Culture and Informational Policy of Ukraine.
The cultural sanctions were already imposed by the Metropolitan Opera, the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Festival de Cannes, Latvian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, European Film Academy, and many other organisations.
Many Ukrainian cultural figures amongst them already signed the petition: Oleg Sentsov (film director), Oksana Lyniv (conductor), Svyatoslav Vakarchuk (musician and frontman of “Okean Elzy” band), Vlad Troitsky (director and founder of GogolFest), and more than 3 thousand from Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Germany, Belgium, and other countries.
Everybody who supports Ukraine and strives to restore the peace can sign the petition via link https://arts.gov.ua/urge-to-impose-cultural-sanctions/
