Italy’s Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli has criticized the decision by the regional authorities of Campania to organize a concert featuring Valery Gergiev, a conductor and friend of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
This was reported by ANSA.
"Art is free and should not be censored. Propaganda, however—even when delivered skillfully—is something else. That’s why the concert by Valery Gergiev, a friend and advisor to Putin, which was planned, organized, and funded by the regional government of Campania at the Royal Palace of Caserta (which, like all autonomous institutions of the Ministry of Culture, is independent in choosing events to host), risks sending the wrong message," said Giuli.
Gergiev is scheduled to perform on July 27 as part of the Un'Estate da Re festival. The performance is expected to effectively end the ban on the 72-year-old conductor performing on European stages—a ban imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, also criticized Campania authorities for inviting Gergiev.
"I simply must say this: there is a serious problem with the ‘Summer of the King’ festival. Because this event has invited Valery Gergiev, a well-known Russian conductor. He is a dear friend of Vladimir Putin. Not just a friend. Not just a supporter. But also a propagandist of Putin’s criminal policies, his accomplice, and an active supporter," said Navalnaya.
After the G7 summit in Canada in June this year, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new round of sanctions against the Russian Federation. Among those sanctioned was conductor Valery Gergiev, an outspoken supporter of Vladimir Putin who, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, plays a significant role in reinforcing Putin’s dictatorship and spreading Kremlin propaganda narratives.
According to information published on the War & Sanctions portal, in March 2014 Gergiev publicly supported Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian Crimea and signed a letter to Putin expressing support for the annexation.
In February 2022, several international theaters and philharmonics cut ties with Gergiev due to his refusal to comment on Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Instead, in March 2022, Gergiev performed at a rally-concert marking the anniversary of Crimea’s annexation and in support of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.
