511 Russian artists who support Putin’s War in Ukraine
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The internationally recognized Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation.
In March 2014, a group of Russian cultural figures (511 people) signed a letter in support of the policies of the Russian President Putin on Ukraine and Crimea. (The letter in Russian is available at the official website of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation: http://bit.ly/2KQyZxh).
These policies have since resulted in 13 thousands dead, including 298 passengers of the Malaysian Airlines
Gergiev.
Conductor Valery Gergiev is one of most prominent Putin supporters.
Flight 17 murdered by a Russian BUK missile, hundreds of thousands injured, and millions displaced. However, in the well over four years since, and despite mounting human and infrastructure costs, Mr. Gergiev has not taken any steps to repudiate the policy. As of November 14th 2016, the International Criminal Court recognized Putin’s policies in Ukraine and Crimea as crimes. In light of this development, it is plain to see that Mr. Gergiev is on-the-record supporter of war crimes.
It is important to note that while Mr. Gergiev and other artists loyal to the regime enjoy the many perks of being favored by an autocrat and his machinery of state, the same machinery has been repeatedly used to punish artists who aim to bring public awareness to regime’s crimes. Meanwhile, Putin’s confidante, Mr. Gergiev was appointed an Honorary Member of the Community Council of the Investigative Committee of Russia, a federal governmental agency controlled by President Putin, which is notorious in today’s Russia as a new punitive body responsible for serial human rights violations.
Presenting criminal regime as being cultural and civilized has been a well-known signature move of Russian propaganda machine since the Soviet era. Now it’s being successfully employed to establish “soft power” through cultural influence to promote Putin’s Russia. Recently The New York Times published an article on Putin’s expanding efforts to use the “soft power” of cultural diplomacy as a tool of foreign policy (https://nyti.ms/37DraoD).
Mr. Gergiev is certainly entitled to his own political views. But it is an outrage when he has been using his artistic reputation as a bully pulpit to praise and whitewash the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Our protests, held internationally, are ethical rather than political. They are intended to inform the international community of hypocrisy, cynicism, and the perfidy of the signatories of that despicable letter, which gives sanctimonious approval to actions which have deliberately inflicted thousands of deaths, hundreds of thousands of injuries, and displaced millions of people and violated the human rights of tens of millions.
The Letter.
English version: The Letter. Official Russian “Ministry of Culture” link : Деятели культуры России — в поддержку позиции Президента по Украине и Крыму
SIGNERBUSTERS (Facebook, Twitter , Instagram, Youtube)
SignerBusters is a group of people who are trying to educate American audience about Russian artist who are openly supporting Putin but come to US to tour.
Protests in New York
- Protest against Igor Butman protest: http://bit.ly/37yxKwA
- Protest against Hibla Gerzmava: http://bit.ly/2KQcys6
- Protest against Denis Matsuev: http://bit.ly/2QNdvoY
- Evgeny Kniazev: http://bit.ly/2KZKqTc
American press
Ukrainian press
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