President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree enacting a decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to impose sanctions on five Russian cultural figures who justify the aggression and spread Russian propaganda at international events. All of them are linked to the aggressor state’s participation in the 61st Venice Biennale.
Among them is Anastasia Karneeva, the daughter of a sanctioned Deputy CEO of Rostec, who was appointed commissioner of the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2021 and will represent Russia there this year.
Sanctions were also imposed on Mikhail Shvydkoy, the special representative of the Russian head of state for international cultural cooperation, who has called Russia’s war against Ukraine an “important historical moment.” He has also publicly claimed that Russia’s participation in the Venice Biennale is allegedly proof that Russian culture is not isolated.
The list also includes Russians who will take part in this year’s Venice Biennale on behalf of the aggressor state: violinist Valeria Oleinik, who has repeatedly visited the temporarily occupied Crimean Peninsula since 2014 to support the aggression; singer Ilya Tatakov, who took part in the creation of a propaganda film in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk region to promote the ideas of the “Russian world”; and vocalist Artem Nikolaev, who last year participated in propaganda events in Crimea.
“Russia’s participation in the Venice Biennale is not about culture – it is about using international platforms to legitimize aggression and spread propaganda. Either you oppose the Russian regime and have access to the cultural space of the free world, or you serve propaganda, face sanctions, and take part in the ‘Cucumber’ festival,” said Advisor – Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk.
Ukraine will provide all necessary information to partners to synchronize sanctions within their jurisdictions.