Speaking at a meeting with a leading cultural figure broadcast on national television, Putin complained about the cancellation of a number of Russian culture events in recent weeks and compared it to the actions taken by Germany Nazi in the 1930s in the 1930s.
President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the west trying to cancel Russian-rich musical and literary culture, including the composer of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov, in the same way he said it had canceled the “Harry Potter” writer Rowling.
Speaking at a meeting with a leading cultural figure broadcast on national television, Putin complained about the cancellation of a number of Russian culture events in recent weeks and compared it to the actions taken by Germany Nazi in the 1930s in the 1930s.
“Not long ago, the author of JK Rowling’s children was also canceled because he … did not please the fans of what was called gender freedom,” Putin told the meeting, referring to the controversy about the opinion of the author “Harry Potter” on the transgender problem.
“Today they are trying to cancel the culture of a thousand years, our people,” he said. “I talked about gradual discrimination against all related to Russia.”
“The last time the mass campaign was to destroy the inappropriate literature, it was by Nazi in Germany almost 90 years ago,” Putin said.
Some events involving Russian cultural figures who have voiced support for war have been canceled, including some involving Galery Gergiev, Director General of Theater St. Petersburg Mariinsky, who spoke to Putin during the Friday meeting.
Gergiev has been dismissed as Munich Philharmonic’s conductor head and lost the opportunity to do in Milan’s La Scala after he failed to condemn the Russian invasion.
Teatro Spain Real, one of Europe’s main opera houses has canceled the show later this year by Bolshoi Ballet Russia. Christie’s auction house, Sotheby’s and Bonhams have canceled the sale of Russian art in London.
Event canceled
The number of far smaller events has been canceled because of his relationship with the dead Russian culture figure.
The Philharmonic Cardiff orchestra dropped the Tchaikovsky music concert from its program, and media reports said the orchestra in Japan and Croatia made a similar decision.
Rowling quickly distanced himself from Putin, posing an article on Twitter which was critical of the Kremlin and his treatment of opposition leaders who were imprisoned by Alexei Navalny.
“Critiques of Western Cancel Culture may not be best made by those who are currently slaughtering civilians for resistance crimes, or who is prison and poison their critics,” he wrote.
Russia denied attacking civilians in what he called “special military operations” in Ukraine, but Western forces said they had repeatedly crashed into civilian targets in what they call an invasion that was not provoked and could not be justified.
Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra said it had experienced “hate speech and malignant comments” after canceling the Tchaikovsky concert.
“Basic humanity takes precedence over art and history,” he said at Facebook. “When the humanitarian crisis ends in discussions about ‘wake’ and ‘canceled culture’ can have its place.”