Art can be a weapon, a propaganda tool, a diplomatic asset, a song of universal pacification, but also a leaf in the wind when the sound of boots and the rumble of tanks send it flying in the wind. Woe to the Ukrainians! Woe to the Russian people, who have not finished paying for the criminal errors of their Supreme Leader!
Russia, an autocratic regime, produced exceptional artists in classical music as in ballet, in literature, also sportsmen and high-level chess players. Since the invasion of Ukraine, participating in international competitions, conducting concerts outside the Russian bosom, exhibiting one’s works abroad is no longer possible.
You have to have been to Russia to understand to what extent the population walks on eggshells with freedom of expression at half mast and privileges bought by silence. Great talents associate themselves with the system, sometimes out of ambition, sometimes out of a love of art, sport or games. Putin.
This week, my colleague Christophe Huss testified in The duty the fall of the maestro of Ossetian origin Valery Gergiev, whose glorious career in Russia is coupled with immense recognition on the international arena.
After the invasion of Ukraine, the house of cards collapsed around him. Non grata at Carnegie Hall in New York, at the Philharmonic Orchestras of Paris, Munich, Rotterdam, at La Scala in Milan and elsewhere. The soprano Anna Netrebko also fell out of favor at the Zurich Opera, after declaring herself opposed to this war while considering it unfair to force artists and personalities to deny their homeland.
Gergiev’s European agent in Germany at Felsner Artists published a half-fig, half-grape text on Facebook showing him the door: “It has become impossible for us, and clearly unwelcome, to defend the interests of Maestro Gergiev, the one of the greatest conductors of all time, a visionary artist loved and admired by many of us, who is unwilling, or unable, to publicly end his long-expressed support for a regime that came to commit such crimes. »
The maestro could not dissociate himself from the tyrant of the Kremlin without risking his post at the head of the Mariinsky, the pride of his life.
It impresses, this theater in St. Petersburg. Built in 1860 under Tsarism, losing momentum during the Soviet Union, its huge and legendary opera ballet and concert hall will have regained its reputation under the aegis of Valery Gergiev, who also ensured its expansion. Going to the Mariinsky is to admire the stylistic perfection of the dancers and the place, watching enthroned in the former imperial box, the young arrogant oligarchs in flashy clothes. The alliance of money, power and art seems at its peak under its chandeliers. It is true that already, under the Soviet Union, certain artists, from Baryshnikov to Nureyev, bet on exile. But not always so easy to leave your beloved and hated homeland.
Admirable are the Ukrainian resistance fighters, also the Russians, simple citizens, artists, journalists who dare to protest in the country against this war. In our country, antivax people have qualified their rulers as fascists, but they have never lived under Putin’s boot. In a democracy, it seems easy to point fingers at Russian artists and athletes who refuse to abjure the regime. Especially when the West condemns the Ukrainian invasion without getting fully involved, as each player is risking so much.
The Cannes Film Festival announced this week that unless there is a resolution to the conflict acceptable to Ukraine, it will not welcome official Russian delegations or anyone linked to this government during its May edition. Without putting its veto on the films and their authors; themselves hostages of a dictatorship. Louise Penny who publishes with Hillary Clinton state of terrorrevealed her pangs at Everybody talks about it. After the invasion of Ukraine, she thought of tearing up her publishing contract on Russian soil, then changed her mind. Their thriller was already translated there into the Cyrillic alphabet, and she thought of the citizens of the country fighting the regime. Hence his decision to transfer Russian profits to a Ukrainian support fund.
Revolting against this war does not prevent us from grasping the complexity of the issues at stake. And if, in full attack, it seems impossible for several countries to welcome Russian artists and athletes, let us at least try to foresee their painful positions before throwing the stone. What would we do in their place? Yes, me. Yes you.