This is how the Russian invasion of Ukraine hit artistic activities around the world

The consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine continue to affect artistic activities in the world. And it was not only the European Broadcasting Union that announced, last Friday, that Russia would not participate in the European song contest "Eurovision" for this year, because this "would harm its reputation."

ballet

The Royal Opera House in the United Kingdom will not receive the troupe of the Russian Bolshoi Ballet Theater, one of the oldest and most important in the world, "under the current circumstances", after it was supposed to present 21 performances from July 26 to August 14 next. .

The "Wolverhampton Grand Theatre" and the "Royal and Dearborn" theater also canceled performances by the Siberian State Ballet Company, after objections from the Ukrainian community in the English city.

The Helix Theater in Dublin, Ireland, canceled the performance "Swan Lake" by the Royal Moscow Ballet "in solidarity with the people of Ukraine".

Concerts

On Tuesday, the mayor of the German city of Munich announced the dismissal of the main leader of the Munich Philharmonic, Russian Valery Gergiev, for his failure to issue a public position against the military operations launched by President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine.

Gergiev was also forced to resign his position as honorary president of the Edinburgh International Festival. He was excluded from performances with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in "Carnegie Hall" in Manhattan, and replaced the Russian pianist Denis Matsuev.

Gergiev was excluded from the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland. Two performances by the Russian Mariinsky Orchestra that Gergiev was scheduled to conduct at Carnegie Hall in May have also been cancelled.

Meanwhile, the American rock band "Green Day" canceled its upcoming concert in Moscow.

Cinema and TV

Warner Brothers, Walt Disney and Sony Pictures announced on Monday that they would stop showing their films in Russia. Each company has a number of important upcoming releases that were scheduled to be launched internationally in the coming weeks.

The movie "Batman", one of the most awaited films this year, is scheduled to be shown on Friday in North America and a number of foreign countries, including Russia. "In light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, WarnerMedia has suspended the screening of its Batman feature film in Russia, and we will continue to closely monitor the situation, hoping for a speedy and peaceful resolution of this tragedy," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

"Due to the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the catastrophic humanitarian crisis, we are shutting down films, including Turning Red, in Russia," a Disney spokesperson said in a statement. "We will make future business decisions based on the development of the situation there. In the meantime, given the scale of In the emerging refugee crisis, we are cooperating with our non-governmental organization partners to provide urgent and other humanitarian assistance to refugees.”

Paramount Pictures also joined the boycott list. On Tuesday, it announced that it would stop showing the films "The Lost City" and "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" in Russia, due to the "ongoing tragedy in Ukraine."

Online entertainment and movie streaming platform Netflix said Monday it would not add Russian state TV channels to its services, something it was required to do under Russian law, starting this week. The said law requires media platforms with more than 100,000 subscribers in Russia to distribute free on-air Russian news and entertainment channels.

In a related context, the Ukrainian Film Academy called for an international boycott of Russian cinema, including the ban of Russian films in international festivals.

The organizers of the Cannes International Film Festival announced, on Tuesday, that "unless the aggression stops on terms that satisfy the Ukrainian people, no official delegations from Russia will be hosted or any body linked to the Russian government will be accepted." "On the other hand, we want to salute the courage of all those who risked demonstrating in Russia against the aggression and invasion of Ukraine," they added, addressing the artists and professionals of the film industry "who cannot be associated with these unacceptable acts, nor with those who bomb Ukraine." This year's edition takes place from 17-28 May.

After prominent Ukrainian director Sergey Loznitsa resigned from the "European Film Academy" (EFA) in protest of its first "shameful" position, on Tuesday it issued a strongly worded statement denouncing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stating that it "joined the global sanctions against Russia and fully supports the call of the Ukrainian Film Academy." to boycott Russian films (...) and Russian films will be excluded from this year's European Film Awards."

Arts

The Russian pavilion at the "Venice Biennale" will not operate as planned this year, after the withdrawal of Russian artists and curators, led by Alexandra Sukhareva, Kirill Sevchenkov and Raimundas Malasusks. The Krag Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow has announced that it will halt preparations for upcoming shows, and exhibitions at the GES-2 House of Culture are suspended.

In a video posted over the weekend, New York City director Peter Gelb dedicated the rest of the season to the Ukrainian people. He stressed that the foundation "will no longer deal with artists and institutions that support or support Putin." Soprano Anna Netrebko, who supports the Russian president, was scheduled to perform the opera "Turandot" this season and "Don Carlos" next season.

The Russian billionaire, named in the European Union's sanctions list "one of the closest oligarchs to Vladimir Putin", Pyotr Avin, has stepped down as trustee at the English Royal Academy of Arts, which also returned on Tuesday a donation he made to the Francis Bacon exhibition.

Gerard Depardieu: I oppose the war of brothers

French actor Gerard Depardieu, who is close to the Russian president, called in a statement to AFP on Tuesday to "cease arms and negotiate."

He added: "I am against this brotherhood war. I say: Stop the arms and negotiate!"

Depardieu holds dual French and Russian citizenship, and obtained a Russian passport in January 2013, against the background of his objection to the tax policy of former President Francois Hollande.

Since then, Depardieu has praised his new homeland, Russia, describing it as a "great democracy", praising Putin and likening him in one of his statements to Pope John Paul II.