Putin’s Ally Gergiev to Conduct at Festival in Italy. Around 40 Ukrainian Diaspora Organizations Demand His Appearance Be Canceled

The Ukrainian World Congress and representatives of Ukrainian communities in Italy are calling for the cancellation of the participation of Putin’s propagandist and conductor Valery Gergiev in the Un’Estate da RE festival.

An official appeal to the Minister of Culture of Italy and the festival organizers has been signed by nearly 40 Ukrainian associations from Italy, Poland, Canada — including the public initiative “Holka” during the Ukrainian Forum in Italy held in Rome.

This could be Gergiev’s first performance in the EU since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion — unless it is canceled.The appeal states:

Valery Gergiev is Vladimir Putin’s envoy, his servant, his loyal friend, his comrade, and emissary of Moscow’s imperialist war. His performance could serve as a brilliant calling card for the Kremlin dictator — a pass for future crimes. Giving him a stage, especially one as prestigious as the Royal Palace of Caserta (on the outskirts of Naples – ed.), is an insult to the entire Ukrainian people, who suffer daily from brutal attacks by the very man Gergiev supports.

Photo: Ukrainian Forum in Italy, July 12, Rome. Provided by the Ukrainian World Congress.

Gergiev’s performance is scheduled as part of the Un’Estate da RE festival, to take place on July 27 at the Royal Palace of Caserta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The concert is actively supported by Vincenzo De Luca, the Governor of Campania (an Italian region – ed.).

Valery Gergiev, a Russian conductor, last performed on a Western stage on February 23, 2022, at La Scala in Milan. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he was banned from performing on European and North American stages due to his refusal to condemn Russia’s war of aggression. Eventually, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra dismissed Gergiev. Meanwhile, pro-Russian media have already begun circulating claims that Italy is allegedly defending Russian culture.

The fact that the Russian dictator’s ally is attempting to resume his activity has also drawn a reaction from Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security:

“Gergiev’s participation in the Un’Estate da RE festival is unacceptable: it would send a signal to the Kremlin that Russia can break through international isolation even as its criminal war against Ukraine continues. His participation in the festival is also absurd considering that it is financed by the EU — the very entity Russia is openly hostile towards.”

Vice-President of the European Parliament Pina Picierno wrote on her page on X that the conductor’s appearance is unacceptable:

“Even after three and a half years of war, there are still those who fail to understand that supporting the Putin regime — including through cultural initiatives like this one — is tantamount to legitimizing its monstrous imperialism. It is my duty, and the duty of EU institutions, to address the festival director and the President of the Campania region, and urge them to revise the program to prevent taxpayer money from ending up in the pockets of a supporter of a criminal regime.”

It is worth noting that “Holka” previously reported that Italy remains one of the few EU countries where propagandist films produced by Russia Today and Sputnik are still being shown and advertised on billboards, and that in some school textbooks, the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea is marked as territory of the occupying state.

Representatives of Ukrainian diaspora organizations at the Forum also agreed to further strengthen the resilience of Ukrainian communities abroad to disinformation, through awareness-raising campaigns and coordinated counter-propaganda efforts.