The international initiative Arts Against Aggression has published an open letter calling for the cancellation of performances by Russian artists — violinist Vadim Repin and his partner, pianist Nikolai Lugansky — at the Miguel Delibes Cultural Centre (Centro Cultural Miguel Delibes) in Valladolid and at the National Auditorium of Music (Auditorio Nacional de Música) in Madrid. The concerts are scheduled for 18 and 20 October.
The appeal highlights Repin’s propaganda activity. Vladimir Putin awarded him the title of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation in April 2022, and he has received funds from a Putin foundation established in 2021.
“Repin, a Belgian citizen and resident of Austria, is actively involved in the Kremlin’s propaganda initiatives and, since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has received more than 100 million roubles directly from Putin’s propaganda fund,” the letter says.
The authors of the letter also draw attention to Lugansky’s public support for the annexation of Crimea and his performances in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, in violation of international law.
“In an interview with the German newspaper Concerti, he compared it to the reunification of East and West Germany, falsely claiming that Crimea had always been Russian until 1991. In breach of international law, Nikolai Lugansky has repeatedly performed in occupied Ukrainian territory, including at the Donbas Opera with the Donetsk Symphony Orchestra and at the Donetsk State Academic Philharmonic,” the letter notes.
In addition, activists expressed outrage over Repin and Lugansky’s planned performance of works by composer Sergei Prokofiev, who was born in the village of Sontsivka, now part of Donetsk region, which is under Russian occupation.
“It is especially cynical that the tour promoters for Repin and Lugansky portray these two Putin loyalists as ‘giants of the modern Russian school’ who are ‘joining forces’ to perform the music of ‘their compatriot Prokofiev’ — a composer who in fact lived under the same political pressure that they now support and represent in Spain,” the letter stresses.
The letter also mentions a number of institutions in different countries that have previously reconsidered their cooperation with Repin and Lugansky — including in Italy, Germany, the United States, Hungary and Lithuania.
About Arts Against Aggression:
- an international movement launched in 2014 that campaigns against Russian cultural propaganda in the United States and Europe;
- the global network includes artists, cultural figures, academics, activists and institutions who oppose the use of art and culture to legitimise aggression, authoritarianism and imperial domination.