A renowned dancer linked to Putin’s government was excluded from a gala in Rome and denounced the “cancellation of Russian culture”

“In Europe the policy of canceling Russian culture continues”Zajárova told the RIA Novosti agency. Despite attempts by the organizers to keep her at the gala, they reportedly encountered “unprecedented external and internal pressures”.

The dancer added that the organization could not resist despite all the efforts made. In addition to the Russian, the main ballet stars from around the world had also been invited, although their cases were not biased by political decisions.

Svetlana Zakharova, a prominent dancer at the Bolshoi Theatre, was born in Ukraine in 1979, when the Soviet Union still existed. The gala from which she was excluded is called ‘Les Étoiles’ and will take place in the Sala Santa Cecilia of the Parco de la Música Ennio Morricone auditorium in the Italian capital.

It occurs in the midst of international sanctions against Russia and its representatives in different areas due to the invasion of Ukraine that unleashed a war that has been going on for four years.

In defense of the dancer, the organization stressed that “Zakharov is not subject to sanctions” in the European Union, which is why it had been invited to participate.

“Art is a means to unite without reducing artists to their nationality“, they argued. In their justification, the organizers also pointed out that dance should function as a “bridge that allows meetings in the name of peace.”

However, they indicated that they received “institutional communications and sincere and painful messages that they have remembered the symbolic responsibility of cultural institutions in the current context“.

In that sense, they explained that “when an artistic event runs the risk of being misinterpreted or exploited, perceived as normalizing the situation and exacerbating wounds, the bridge that art strives to build risks collapsing before it is even completed.”

For these reasons, the organization reiterated the call for respect for the freedom of expression of artists, as well as highlighted its opposition to any form of discrimination based on nationality.

Zajárova, 49, was a deputy for the Kremlin party and He is currently a member of the Art and Culture Committee assigned to the Russian government..

The case comes amid growing controversy in Italy over the decision to allow Russia’s participation in the next Venice Art Biennale, after having been excluded in previous editions following the invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in Russia there are few cultural figures who spoke out against the military campaign in Ukraine, while they continue to carry out their activity in the country.