Ukraine culture minister calls on world to halt Nutcracker

Oleksandr Tkachenko (pic, left) calls today in the Guardian for a Tchaikovsky ban ‘until Russia ceases its bloody invasion’.

He writes: ‘Russia isn’t just physically attacking Ukraine; it is also trying to destroy our culture and memory. In the occupied territories, Ukrainian libraries have been liquidated, the word “Ukraine” has been erased, and Ukrainian museums have been destroyed. Our ministry of culture and information policy has recorded more than 800 cases of destruction: monuments and works of arts, museums, valuable historical buildings.

‘This war is a civilisational battle over culture and history. On 5 September this year, Vladimir Putin signed a decree that refers to the “Russian peace”. The Kremlin made clear in the document that culture was a tool and even a weapon in the hands of the government, and that it would actively use all the opportunities available to it, from promoting Russian ballet to protecting the rights of Russian speakers abroad, in order to advance its interests….

‘Boycotting Russian culture is an important step. We’re not talking about cancelling Tchaikovsky, but rather about pausing performances of his works until Russia ceases its bloody invasion. Ukrainian cultural venues have already done this with him and other Russian composers. We’re calling on our allies to do the same. Already, many of the theatres and cultural venues that previously refused to perform Russian music or to cooperate with Russian artists who support the war have since renewed their ties. And Ukrainian culture has so much to offer. Our composers have produced masterpieces, and our writers should be no less esteemed than their Russian counterparts.’

A misstep in the propaganda war?