After the cancellation of the pro-Putin ballerina and her team’s performance in Florence, her husband, pro-Putin violinist Vadim Repin, is planning a new performance, this time in Germany. His concert is scheduled to take place on 22 February 2026 at the Mannheim Philharmonic Hall.
The date of the performance falls almost on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which once again raises the issue of the presence of Russian artists associated with Russian state structures on European stages.
LB.ua sent a request to the Ukrainian Embassy in Germany and received a prompt response: “The Ukrainian Embassy is concerned about the information that, after the cancellation of the performance in Florence, a concert by Russian violinist Vadim Repin is planned in Germany — on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion.
The embassy has officially appealed to the mayor of Mannheim, where the concert is planned, as well as to the organisers of the event, with an urgent request to cancel it. We have provided comprehensive arguments regarding Repin’s involvement in Russian cultural propaganda and his and his family’s proximity to the Kremlin regime. We hope that our arguments will be heard, despite the fact that we have already received cautious preliminary responses citing the alleged impossibility of the state influencing the ‘private cultural activities’ of individual entities. Such a position cannot be justified at a time when Russia is killing Ukrainians on a daily basis and using culture as an instrument of war.
Together with the Consulate General of Ukraine in Munich and the Ukrainian community, we will do everything possible to prevent this shameful performance from taking place. When Russian state culture is promoted on Western stages, the audience is offered not just a concert, but a distorted image of reality, in which aggression, crimes and responsibility are pushed behind the scenes.”
Unlike his wife, Bolshoi Theatre prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova, who was a State Duma deputy from the United Russia party, Vadim Repin did not formally hold political office, was not a member of the ruling party, and avoided public political statements. However, research shows his systematic participation in the Kremlin’s cultural and propaganda initiatives and financial support from the state.
In particular, on 16 January 2019, during a meeting between Vladimir Putin and government officials in the Kremlin, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, reporting on the Russian Seasons programme abroad, separately mentioned the Violin Festival led by Vadim Repin. According to her, the festival took place in Italy, covered more than 300 events in more than 70 cities and, as stated, led to the conclusion of numerous contracts and the establishment of “cultural ties”. Thus, Repin was publicly presented as one of the key figures in Russian cultural diplomacy, implemented directly under the patronage of the President of the Russian Federation.
After the start of the full-scale war, on 1 April 2022, less than a month and a half after the invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin awarded Vadim Repin the honorary title of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation. This state recognition was a clear signal of support from the regime amid Russia’s international isolation.
On 21 February 2024, Repin performed with the State Kremlin Orchestra at a concert organised by the Kremlin Foundation. The event was timed to coincide with Defender of the Fatherland Day, and the Presidential Library’s website announced the concert as “a wonderful gift for our defenders”, offering tickets at a reduced price. Thus, the musician once again found himself in the context of official events with a clear ideological message.
In June 2024, Repin’s close ties to Putin’s regime became the focus of international attention during a scandal at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. After his victory, Ukrainian violinist Dmytro Udovychenko publicly refused to shake hands with Russian jury member Vadim Repin, as a gesture of protest against the presence of representatives of the aggressor country in international cultural institutions.
In addition, on 18 April 2025, Repin broadcast his concert with the Russian National Orchestra, conducted by Italian conductor Alessandro Cadario, to an audience in the temporarily occupied Crimea. This constitutes a direct violation of international law and further confirms his involvement in legitimising the Russian occupation through culture.
The financial aspect deserves special attention. Between 2022 and 2026, the Vadim Repin Foundation for the Development of the Arts received over 100 million roubles from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, a structure that reports directly to the Russian presidential administration and serves as an instrument for implementing state cultural policy.
We are currently monitoring the situation and the response of the local German authorities and event organisers.