Vienna Opera chief calls for end to Russia bans

The former director of the Vienna Staatsoper Ioan Holender has published an article in the mass-market Kurier calling for an end to all bans on Russian artists and sportsmen.

He begins with weasel words: ‘No one doubts that the war that broke out in Ukraine a year ago was caused by its neighbor, the Russian Federation. Whatever the reason, those who started the war should be condemned.’

However: ‘What does the wrongly banned Russian athlete think? How does the aspiring pianist or singer react who, despite his qualifications, is not admitted to the competition because of his Russian descent?

‘They will all feel frustrated and stolen from the West. Their resentment will not be directed at the warring government of their homeland, but at the evil West that treats them unfairly.’

This ia a pethetic bleat that ignores Putin’s personal need for cultural validation and sporting success. The support of global artists like Gergiev, Matsuev and Netrebko make him feel like a player on the world stage. Likweise the Olympic triumphs of ice-hockey players and distance runners (David Cameron has provided chilling evidence of his enthusiasm at the 2021 London Olympics).

What the dubious Holender fails to see is that an effective measure to stop Putin’s war is to isolate him economically, culturally and individually – along with his prominent supporters.