An appeal to Carnegie Hall to cancel Valery Gergiev

Anti-Putin activists in the US argue that it’s inappropriate to engage his musical puppet when the Russian leader is threatening war.

Open letter to Carnegie Hall.
To: Sanford I. Weill, President; Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director; Robert F. Smith, Chairman; Mercedes T. Bass, Vice Chairman
On the eve of war, as Russian troops stand at the borders of Ukraine, you are hosting notorious supporters and longtime promoters of this war, Denis Matsuev and Valery Gergiev.
In March 2014, Matsuev and Gergiev joined a host of other Russian artists and cultural figures in officially signing an open letter of support of President Putin’s policies to invade Ukraine and forcibly annex Crimea. (The letter is available at the web site of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation– http://mkrf.ru/…/deyateli-kultury-rossii-v-podderzhku…. English translation is available here: http://russianartists4war.com/letter/. Gergiev’s signature is number 97 and Matsuev’s is number 270).
This genre of letter is a well known political tool that has been widely used since Stalin’s era to advocate for and whitewash repressions, killings, and wars.
Over the past eight years, we have repeatedly appealed to you to shut your doors against those who support war and who are involved in Putin’s propaganda machine. For all those years, you have chosen to ignore the information that we have provided you, preferring to develop the narrative that these performers are “cultural ambassadors.” They are not. It is with their sincere blessings that fourteen thousand people are dead, hundreds of thousands are injured, millions are displaced, and the human rights of tens of millions are violated. Perhaps now – as Putin’s forces threaten not only the future of a sovereign Ukraine but also the stability and security of a democratic Europe – you can understand that Matsuev and Gergiev are, in fact, heralds of war and vehicles of the Kremlin’s soft power.
Today we appeal to you, again. Do not let Carnegie Hall go down in history as a servant of propaganda and war.
We must insist that you do the right thing – shut your doors against these servants and promoters of war.