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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Putin's friend Gergiev set to conduct as Italy breaks ban on pro-Kremlin artists
Russian conductor Valery Gergiev has been barred from European stages ever since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A close ally of Vladimir Putin for many years, the director of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Russian state theatres has never spoken out against the war. But a region of southern Italy has now invited Gergiev back to Europe, signalling the artist's rehabilitation even as Russia's attacks on Ukraine intensify. Vincenzo de Luca, who runs the Campania region, insists that the concert at the Un'Estate da RE festival later this month will go ahead despite a growing swell of criticism. "Culture… must not be influenced by politics and political logic," De Luca said in a livestream on Friday. "We do not ask these men to answer for the choices made by politicians." The 76-year-old local leader has previously called Europe's broad veto on pro-Putin artists "a moment of stupidity – a moment of madness" at the start of the war and announced that he was "proud" to welcome Gergiev to town. But Pina Picierno, a vice-president of the European Parliament, has told the BBC that allowing Gergiev's return is "absolutely unacceptable". She calls the star conductor a "cultural mouthpiece for Putin and his crimes". Ukrainian human rights activist and Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk said the invitation by the regional government was "hypocrisy", rather than neutrality. Russian opposition activists have also condemned the director's sudden return. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, wants his concert cancelled and is calling on Italy's interior ministry to ban Gergiev's entry to the country. Before Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, the virtuoso Gergiev was a regular visitor to stages in Italy and across Europe, despite his closeness to Putin. His long and illustrious career includes stints at the London Symphony Orchestra and Munich Philharmonic. But the invitations to Europe stopped abruptly on 24 February 2022. Hours before the first Russian missiles were launched at Ukraine, Gergiev was on stage at Milan's La Scala opera house. Urged then by the city's mayor to speak out against the war, Gergiev chose silence. He was promptly dropped from the bill. Abandoned by his manager, despite calling Gergiev "the greatest conductor alive", he was then fired as chief conductor in Munich and removed from concert schedules across the continent. That's why the invitation from Italy is so controversial. Pina Picierno, who is from the Campania region herself, says her call to stop the event is not Russophobic. "There is no shortage of brilliant Russian artists who choose to disassociate themselves from Putin's criminal policies," she told the BBC. The European MP, who says she has received threats for her work exposing Russia's hybrid warfare, warns that allowing Gergiev to perform would be both wrong and dangerous. "This is not about censorship. Gergiev is part of a deliberate Kremlin strategy. He is one of their cultural envoys to soften Western public opinion. This is part of their war." The cultural controversy erupted in a week when Italy was hosting heads of state from all over Europe to reaffirm their support for Ukraine and discuss how to rebuild the country once the war is over. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been a strong and consistent critic of Vladimir Putin from the start. But her culture ministry is one of the backers of Un'Estate da RE, which has invited Gergiev. A senior MP from Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, Alfredo Antoniozzi, has described Gergiev as "simply a great artist". "If Russians have to pay for the mistakes of their president, then we are committing a kind of cultural genocide," he argued. Last month, Canada formally barred Gergiev from entry and declared it would freeze any assets. But the European Union has shied away from formal sanctions against the conductor, who has avoided voicing open support for the war. Gergiev has been a vocal supporter of Putin since the 1990s, later campaigning for his re-election and backing Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. He was handed management of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre, in addition to the Mariinsky Theatre, taking over from a director who signed an open letter against Russia's war. Gergiev is a state employee, but in 2022 an investigation by Alexei Navalny's team uncovered properties in several Italian cities that they say he never declared. They also alleged he used donations to a charitable fund to pay for his own lavish lifestyle. The activists argued that was Gergiev's reward for his public loyalty to Putin. The BBC has so far been unable to reach the conductor for comment. A spokeswoman for the European Commission, Eva Hrncirova, has clarified that the Un'Estate da RE festival is not receiving EU cash: it is financed by Italy's own "cohesion funds". But she added that the commission urged European stages not to give space "to artists who support the war of aggression in Ukraine". In Campania, the artistic director who crafted this year's festival programme declined to comment. A spokesman was confident Gergiev's performance would go ahead, though – despite the controversy. "Yes," he assured the BBC. "For sure." Additional reporting from Rome by Davide Ghiglione. Putin's favourite conductor to run Bolshoi Russian conductor resigns Edinburgh Festival post
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Putin's friend Gergiev set to conduct as Italy breaks ban on pro-Kremlin artists
Russian conductor Valery Gergiev has been barred from European stages ever since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.A close ally of Vladimir Putin for many years, the director of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Russian state theatres has never spoken out against the a region of southern Italy has now invited Gergiev back to Europe, signalling the artist's rehabilitation even as Russia's attacks on Ukraine de Luca, who runs the Campania region, insists that the concert at the Un'Estate da RE festival later this month will go ahead despite a growing swell of criticism."Culture… must not be influenced by politics and political logic," De Luca said in a livestream on Friday. "We do not ask these men to answer for the choices made by politicians."The 76-year-old local leader has previously called Europe's broad veto on pro-Putin artists "a moment of stupidity – a moment of madness" at the start of the war and announced that he was "proud" to welcome Gergiev to town. But Pina Picierno, a vice-president of the European Parliament, has told the BBC that allowing Gergiev's return is "absolutely unacceptable".She calls the star conductor a "cultural mouthpiece for Putin and his crimes".Ukrainian human rights activist and Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk said the invitation by the regional government was "hypocrisy", rather than opposition activists have also condemned the director's sudden return. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, wants his concert cancelled and is calling on Italy's interior ministry to ban Gergiev's entry to the country. Before Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, the virtuoso Gergiev was a regular visitor to stages in Italy and across Europe, despite his closeness to long and illustrious career includes stints at the London Symphony Orchestra and Munich the invitations to Europe stopped abruptly on 24 February before the first Russian missiles were launched at Ukraine, Gergiev was on stage at Milan's La Scala opera house. Urged then by the city's mayor to speak out against the war, Gergiev chose was promptly dropped from the by his manager, despite calling Gergiev "the greatest conductor alive", he was then fired as chief conductor in Munich and removed from concert schedules across the why the invitation from Italy is so Picierno, who is from the Campania region herself, says her call to stop the event is not Russophobic."There is no shortage of brilliant Russian artists who choose to disassociate themselves from Putin's criminal policies," she told the European MP, who says she has received threats for her work exposing Russia's hybrid warfare, warns that allowing Gergiev to perform would be both wrong and dangerous."This is not about censorship. Gergiev is part of a deliberate Kremlin strategy. He is one of their cultural envoys to soften Western public opinion. This is part of their war." The cultural controversy erupted in a week when Italy was hosting heads of state from all over Europe to reaffirm their support for Ukraine and discuss how to rebuild the country once the war is Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been a strong and consistent critic of Vladimir Putin from the start. But her culture ministry is one of the backers of Un'Estate da RE, which has invited Gergiev.A senior MP from Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, Alfredo Antoniozzi, has described Gergiev as "simply a great artist"."If Russians have to pay for the mistakes of their president, then we are committing a kind of cultural genocide," he month, Canada formally barred Gergiev from entry and declared it would freeze any the European Union has shied away from formal sanctions against the conductor, who has avoided voicing open support for the has been a vocal supporter of Putin since the 1990s, later campaigning for his re-election and backing Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in was handed management of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre, in addition to the Mariinsky Theatre, taking over from a director who signed an open letter against Russia's is a state employee, but in 2022 an investigation by Alexei Navalny's team uncovered properties in several Italian cities that they say he never declared. They also alleged he used donations to a charitable fund to pay for his own lavish activists argued that was Gergiev's reward for his public loyalty to BBC has so far been unable to reach the conductor for comment.A spokeswoman for the European Commission, Eva Hrncirova, has clarified that the Un'Estate da RE festival is not receiving EU cash: it is financed by Italy's own "cohesion funds".But she added that the commission urged European stages not to give space "to artists who support the war of aggression in Ukraine".In Campania, the artistic director who crafted this year's festival programme declined to comment. A spokesman was confident Gergiev's performance would go ahead, though – despite the controversy."Yes," he assured the BBC. "For sure."Additional reporting from Rome by Davide Ghiglione.
Russia Today
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ex-Navalny aide gets 18-year prison sentence
A Russian court has sentenced a close associate of the late opposition figure Alexey Navalny to 18 years behind bars in absentia. Leonid Volkov was charged with creating an extremist group, rehabilitating Nazism, and funding extremist activities. Volkov joined Navalny in 2013 and fled to the EU in 2019. Two years later, Russia put him on the international wanted list on charges of illegally enticing minors to participate in unauthorized protests. In a statement announcing the sentence, the court also fined Volkov 2 million rubles ($25,000) and banned him from administering any websites for six years. The list of charges includes two counts of 'politically-motivated vandalism' and spreading disinformation about the Russian Armed Forces. Volkov mocked the court's decision in a post on X. He wrote that although the sentence itself was 'harsh,' the fine was miniscule, adding that he was 'not even barred from using the internet' and vowed to make good use of it. He became the head of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in July 2021, a month after it was designated an extremist group in Russia. In 2022, Volkov was designated a 'foreign agent' and added to Russia's terrorism and extremism watchlist together with Ivan Zhdanov, another Navalny associate, who also resides outside the country. The foreign agent status is reserved for those found to be assisting foreign organizations deemed hostile to Russia's interests, as well as for financing such activity. Navalny died at a penal colony in February 2024 while serving his sentence. He was initially imprisoned in 2021 for violating the terms of an earlier suspended sentence. In 2023, he was given an additional 19 years on multiple extremism-related charges. The Russian authorities have since issued arrest warrants against his close associates, including his widow, on various extremism-related charges. All of them reside outside Russia.
