2024-03-11 07:48:17
For five days already, the Italian actress Ornella Muti and her eldest daughter Naike Rivelli have been visiting Moscow and Sochi, where they participated in a variety of events organized in their honor. The two constantly share photos and video stories on their social media profiles and say how much they are enjoying their experiences in Russia.
The actress, who is of Russian-Estonian origin on her mother’s side and Neapolitan on her father’s side, went to the Youth Festival in Sochi, where there is an Italian delegation. There she was met by the famous Neapolitan street art artist Yorit. He dedicated to her a mural, or “murales,” with her likeness on a block wall in the Olympic Village.
“We didn’t come for political reasons, we came to support the women and our fans. Mom has been doing it since the communist period, when she arrived as a young person to make her first films in terrible times,” Naike Rivelli wrote on Instagram. Then she added: “Art has always been neutral because it serves to fill hearts and give hope, love and culture to all who need it. Especially in difficult times. There is a lot of gratitude from the people of the people for our presence. We came to support the eco-friendly fashion of the women of the World Youth Forum who arrived here from all over the world,” wrote also the daughter of Ornella Muti for her 383 thousand followers on Instagram.
In a video of the two women in the same car, they share how Ornella gave “a great interview and felt the immense love for her”.
“Wherever we were – at press conferences, on television, we were always free to talk about anything – about peace, about eco-fashion, about everything,” Naike Riveli said.
Footage posted on Instagram shows the two women walking around Red Square smiling, after which Ornella took part in a Moscow Fashion Week forum where she was interviewed on stage. “Thank you, Russia,” writes Naike Riveli. The two of them with their mother venture to dance in front of the participants of the event, saying that they haven’t had so much fun in a long time.
Many controversies were caused in Italy by the statement in Russia of the street artist Yorit, who painted the face of Ornella Muti in Sochi. He praised President Putin and said he was in Russia to show that “he is humane and to oppose Western propaganda”.
“Russia and Italy are united by many factors, including the struggle for independence and the desire for freedom that Italians always have in their hearts,” Putin said on stage at the Sochi festival, side by side with the Neapolitan, whom he embraced. The Russian the president added that “they have always admired Italian art. This is great art of a great people, that much is clear. We in Russia have always thought of it that way and we still think of it that way.” Putin also quoted Garibaldi and added that “Italy’s struggle for independence unites the two countries. Italians have always had a desire for freedom, and that means respecting the desire of other peoples to make their choice and choose their destiny,” added Putin.
For the second time in two weeks, the Russian president publicly emphasized the closeness between Rome and Moscow. On February 20, the Russian student at the Moscow University, Irene Chekini, gave him an opportunity to do so. Then, as now, Putin sent an unequivocal message to Italy and Italians, speaking of the healthy ties between the two countries that have been possible despite years of war.
By all accounts, it seems that now in Sochi he flatters the Italians strongly, using the occasion with Iorit, who is heavily criticized in the Apennines. The artist is the author of a giant mural on a bombed-out building in Mariupol, occupied by Russian units. It depicts a little girl surrounded by two rockets with the inscription “NATO”. In Moscow, the Neapolitan dedicated a mural to Julian Assange. Iorit also won Putin’s congratulations for the image of Dostoevsky, realized by him in Naples.
“There was no freedom in Russia? That’s what you say,” Iorit addressed an interviewing journalist from the Roman newspaper “Republika” on the occasion of one of the controversies with his works.