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Tuesday, March 01, 2022
Some Russian performers speak out against Putin and the Ukraine invasion
NPR: In the midst of the Ukraine crisis, a number of Russian performing artists are speaking out against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many of them come from the worlds of classical music, ballet and theater — revered art forms in a country that prizes its high-arts heritage.
4 comments:
John Alexander Farrell
said...
Taking into account the ongoing turbulent political climate (where the Russian Federation has declared war on Ukraine with hopes of annexation) it is interesting to consider the art scene. Reading about Russian artists speaking against Putin brings up numerous thoughts in my head. Especially knowing most of these come from renowned productions– many having received Russian prices for their high arts heritage. I recently read about Elena Kovalskaya renouncing the Artistic Director position at the Moscow Theatre. Stating: “It is impossible to work for a murderer and get a salary from him.” Not only that but Alexei Ratmansky (former choreographer at the Bolshoi Ballet) announced that he doubts he will return to Moscow to finish the project "if Putin is still president." Now, many might consider these to be empty threats. What is the weight of an artist's opinion in political matters? And honestly, I don’t know the answer to that. But it’s definitely a conversation I look forward to having.
This is very uplifting, I am so very glad that Russian people specifically are speaking out about this. At the same time I am very fearful for these artists, more so the ones that still live in Russia than anything else. Putin is absolutely a dictator and thusly, going against his will, speaking out against him is an extremely dangerous act that he could declare high treason. Putin, his inner circle, and his tankie followers like to excuse this invasion of a sovereign nation as “De- Nazifiying” it. Despite the facts, of course, that Ukraine’s President is a Jew, one of only two Jews who are currently nation leaders worldwide, and the fact that the neo nazi groups that do exist in the Ukraine, independent of the government of course, ALSO exist in Russia. Additionally, Russia just bombed a Holocaust memorial in Ukraine. The people on the American Far right and far left who support Putin are absolute idiots and I am so absolutely glad that artists specifically are speaking out about this.
I have been keeping up as much as I can with the war in Ukraine. Something I hadn’t taken into consideration was how artists would be affected. I am also overwhelmingly grateful for the Russian artists who are speaking out against the war. It is incredibly brave of them to know that they could be thrown in prison. The "NO TO WAR!" movement on social media has also been a very powerful aspect of my life recently. The fact that these artists, among others, are committed to not returning under the– current leadership, is a huge step towards a better future for both Ukraine and Russia. Putin has shown that it does not matter who you are, what you do, or even what country is you’re from he will at least try to take out the people he perceives as his enemy. And that’s an important distinction it's Putin's fight, not Russia. And the people of Russia are speaking out.
I am glad that more and more Russian performers and public figures are speaking out against Putin’s regime and the invasion of Ukraine. This whole conflict is so awful and it will only end when the Russian people finally stand up and reject their tyrannical leader Putin. I’ll never forget when I went to Ukraine last summer, I traveled to Odesa, Kyiv, and Lviv and each city was so beautiful and full of culture. In fact, Kiev had one of the most bustling street art scenes I’ve ever seen in my life, but now the whole city is being turned to rubble by Russian missiles. I have so many friends that have now gone into hiding to avoid the shelling as the Russian army has indiscriminately attacked not just military targets, but civilian areas as well. Recently, one of my friends also went off to fight in Ukraine, he isn’t even Ukrainian, but he felt a duty to protect democracy and freedom there. Throughout this whole war, I’ve been praying more every day Russians to stand up against the war, and so far a lot have in a handful of Moscow protests, but this is going to be a long and bitter war that I don’t see ending anytime soon
4 comments:
Taking into account the ongoing turbulent political climate (where the Russian Federation has declared war on Ukraine with hopes of annexation) it is interesting to consider the art scene. Reading about Russian artists speaking against Putin brings up numerous thoughts in my head. Especially knowing most of these come from renowned productions– many having received Russian prices for their high arts heritage. I recently read about Elena Kovalskaya renouncing the Artistic Director position at the Moscow Theatre. Stating: “It is impossible to work for a murderer and get a salary from him.” Not only that but Alexei Ratmansky (former choreographer at the Bolshoi Ballet) announced that he doubts he will return to Moscow to finish the project "if Putin is still president." Now, many might consider these to be empty threats. What is the weight of an artist's opinion in political matters? And honestly, I don’t know the answer to that. But it’s definitely a conversation I look forward to having.
This is very uplifting, I am so very glad that Russian people specifically are speaking out about this. At the same time I am very fearful for these artists, more so the ones that still live in Russia than anything else. Putin is absolutely a dictator and thusly, going against his will, speaking out against him is an extremely dangerous act that he could declare high treason. Putin, his inner circle, and his tankie followers like to excuse this invasion of a sovereign nation as “De- Nazifiying” it. Despite the facts, of course, that Ukraine’s President is a Jew, one of only two Jews who are currently nation leaders worldwide, and the fact that the neo nazi groups that do exist in the Ukraine, independent of the government of course, ALSO exist in Russia. Additionally, Russia just bombed a Holocaust memorial in Ukraine. The people on the American Far right and far left who support Putin are absolute idiots and I am so absolutely glad that artists specifically are speaking out about this.
I have been keeping up as much as I can with the war in Ukraine. Something I hadn’t taken into consideration was how artists would be affected. I am also overwhelmingly grateful for the Russian artists who are speaking out against the war. It is incredibly brave of them to know that they could be thrown in prison. The "NO TO WAR!" movement on social media has also been a very powerful aspect of my life recently. The fact that these artists, among others, are committed to not returning under the– current leadership, is a huge step towards a better future for both Ukraine and Russia. Putin has shown that it does not matter who you are, what you do, or even what country is you’re from he will at least try to take out the people he perceives as his enemy. And that’s an important distinction it's Putin's fight, not Russia. And the people of Russia are speaking out.
I am glad that more and more Russian performers and public figures are speaking out against Putin’s regime and the invasion of Ukraine. This whole conflict is so awful and it will only end when the Russian people finally stand up and reject their tyrannical leader Putin. I’ll never forget when I went to Ukraine last summer, I traveled to Odesa, Kyiv, and Lviv and each city was so beautiful and full of culture. In fact, Kiev had one of the most bustling street art scenes I’ve ever seen in my life, but now the whole city is being turned to rubble by Russian missiles. I have so many friends that have now gone into hiding to avoid the shelling as the Russian army has indiscriminately attacked not just military targets, but civilian areas as well. Recently, one of my friends also went off to fight in Ukraine, he isn’t even Ukrainian, but he felt a duty to protect democracy and freedom there. Throughout this whole war, I’ve been praying more every day Russians to stand up against the war, and so far a lot have in a handful of Moscow protests, but this is going to be a long and bitter war that I don’t see ending anytime soon
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