In an open letter, more than 17,000 Russian artists have called for the Russians to withdraw from Ukraine. The artists, curators, architects, critics, art historians and art managers are clearly positioning themselves against Russian President Vladimir Putin. They write: “The pretext under which the use of the ‘special operation’ took place was constructed entirely by representatives of the Russian authorities, and we are opposed to this war being waged in our name.”
The signatories demand an end to the war and negotiations between the two states “on a respectful and equal basis”.
The cultural workers point out that family, friends and colleagues are in the attacked “sovereign and independent state”. You write: “The war in Ukraine is a terrible tragedy for both Ukrainians and Russians.” Moreover, any “peace enforcement” by force is considered “absurd”.
The artists point out that the war will also have a significant impact on the Russian cultural sector. “Everything that has been achieved culturally in the past 30 years is now at stake,” said the signatories. Under the current conditions, it will hardly be possible to deal with culture and art. Say resolutely: “No, to war!”
Russian artists are also critical of the Kremlin and opposed to the invasion in other ways. The Russian-Austrian chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, Kirill Petrenko, recently declared that Putin’s “insidious” attack on Ukraine was “a knife in the back of the entire peaceful world”. The Berlin-based flautist and composer Natalia Pschenitschnikova is even clearer in the music magazine Van: “Russian warships, fuck you!”
The pianist Alexander Melnikov, meanwhile, spoke to an audience in Bochum on the evening after Russia invaded Ukraine about the “worst morning” of his life. As the news portal Slipdisc reports, Melnikov was apparently very angry – “angry at her (Putin or his party, editor’s note.) because they make me feel guilty about being Russian.”