Russian artists are affected by an unprecedented boycott movement around the world. The day after the Orchester symphonique de Montréal (OSM) decided to deprogram a 20-year-old Russian pianist who has nothing to do with the Putin regime, some are beginning to wonder if this strategy is going too far.
“I find it deplorable what is happening at the moment. If we start playing this game, should we boycott American artists because of the war in Iraq? Israeli artists because of Palestine? I think that Russian artists should be able to continue to perform here, and shouldn’t have to express their political opinion to be able to do so,” says Michèle Joubert, who has been an OSM subscriber for several years.
The retired lawyer insisted on writing a letter to the WHO on Wednesday expressing her dissatisfaction after the cancellation of the visit of the young prodigy Alexander Malofeev, despite the fact that the latter openly regretted the war in Ukraine on social networks. This decision, according to Mr.me Joubert, is all the more incomprehensible as the Red Army Choir gave concerts in Montreal at the height of the Cold War, when there was no doubt that it was a valuable propaganda tool. for the Soviet government.
“What we are currently seeing with Russian artists is unprecedented. I’ve never seen that,” continues Marie Fraser, professor in the Department of Art History at UQAM. “Usually a boycott movement is the opposite: it’s artists who decide not to go to a country for political reasons, not a country that decides to boycott artists because of their nationality,” says- she.
That said, Marie Fraser is ambivalent regarding the case of the OSM. On the one hand, she is sorry that Russian artists are penalized for a situation beyond their control, especially since those she knows are mostly opposed to Kremlin policy. But on the other hand, she understands that the context is particular and that the OSM could have been criticized if it had maintained the presence of a Russian pianist on stage.
A bad for a good ?
Recall that last week, the Montreal institution had made it known that there was no reason to cancel the visit of young Alexander Malofeev, as he had distanced himself from Russian power. The OSM finally backtracked on Tuesday, on the eve of the first show in which he was supposed to perform.
“Unfortunately, the worsening of the situation among the Ukrainian population over the past few days has exacerbated the worldwide feeling of amazement generated by the first bombardments by the Russian army”, reiterated the OSM on Wednesday, defending itself to have changed his tune.
This decision is part of a broad movement in the West, where Russian artists are no longer welcome. The Canada Council for the Arts (CAC), one of the main cultural funding bodies, even hinted last week that projects featuring Russian artists would no longer be eligible for grants.
In interview at Homework, the director of the CAC, Simon Brault, nuanced this position. He said the sanction only targets productions that feature artists or groups that are directly connected to the Russian state, such as a tour of the Bolshoi or the Red Army Chorus.
The measure does not apply to events that would include Russian artists, such as a show in which a Russian pianist would take part. As such, the CAC specifies that it has nothing to do with the OSM’s decision to suspend Alexander Malofeev’s participation in a series of concerts.
“It is certain that the withdrawal of culture from Russia penalizes the population, recognizes Simon Brault. But at the same time, if this disapproval of the international community has no consequences on daily life, the regime has free rein to continue committing its abuses. »
Never seen
The Arts Council’s approach to Russian culture is unprecedented. No such watchword exists for artists who come from Iran, a country that has been subject to multiple economic sanctions for decades.
But despite this extremely tense context, there is no question for Cirque du Soleil to divest itself of its many Russian artists, many of whom are based in Montreal. “We have Russian artists on almost all of our shows. We have dozens of nationalities, and everyone is part of the same family, ”says Cirque spokesperson Caroline Couillard.
Same story at the École Supérieure de Ballet du Québec, which has a few Russian students: “It is out of the question for the School to exclude a child, a student or an employee, whatever their nationality. »