The Embassy of Ukraine in France has expressed outrage over the programme of the Paris theatre Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, which has scheduled performances by several Russian artists from March to June who are known for their public support of Vladimir Putin’s regime.
In a statement, the diplomatic mission noted that the list includes, in particular, Anna Netrebko, Alexandra Dovgan, Grigory Sokolov, Nikolai Lugansky and Dmitry Masleev. According to the embassy, some of these performers have appeared before Russian troops and have received state honours from the President of the Russian Federation for their role in promoting imperial and wartime propaganda.
The embassy stressed that, amid Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, culture is being used by the Kremlin as an instrument of information aggression, and that attempts to present Russian art as being “outside politics” are, in its words, a cynical effort to whitewash the aggressor state.
“When Russia is committing genocide against Ukrainians, destroying cultural heritage and persecuting artists, any narratives about the neutrality of Russian culture are unacceptable,” the statement said.
The embassy reported that it has already approached the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, urging the French authorities and the public to respond to the situation and prevent the legitimisation of Russian propaganda under the guise of art.
The diplomats also recalled that Ukrainian cultural seasons, Culture contre-attaque, are currently under way in France, within which Ukrainian artists speak about the war, resistance and the price of freedom. Against this backdrop, the appearance of Russian performers in the heart of Paris, the embassy said, looks like a direct provocation.
The statement emphasised that culture should serve truth, freedom and human dignity, not the justification of aggression and war crimes.