As a consequence of Putin’s war, Russian culture is headed for the gulag
The Ministry of Culture considers such decisions “absolutely logical.” The people being punished have “abandoned Russia” at a “difficult time,” and “publicly opposed its rich culture.” In the Orwellian dystopia that modern Russia has become, opposing a war, while contributing to culture, is tantamount to opposing culture. Here, art has no artist, and critics of the Kremlin are alive, but have no lives.
In some ways, Mr. Putin’s Russia is even less culturally tolerant than Stalin’s. The recent removal of the Tretyakov Gallery’s director, Zelfira Tregulova, is a case in point. A citizen named Sergei supposedly complained to the Ministry of Culture that the exhibition he had visited at the Tretyakov “does not fully” correspond to the state policy “to preserve and strengthen traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.” Ms.
During the Stalin era, there was plenty of “happy Soviet” propaganda: while people were dying of hunger on collective farms, artists painted scenes of plenty. But after Stalin, state control over art was loosened somewhat. For example, in the late 1960s and 1970s, Moscow’s Taganka Theatre staged several productions that, and were even banned, but its director, Yuri Lubimov, was allowed to continue his work in Moscow until 1984.
Of course, the Soviet Union was hardly a bastion of artistic freedom. Mr. Lubimov’s citizenship was eventually stripped, and he was exiled. But if Mr. Putin is cracking down on culture as harshly as the Soviets did, Russia has truly fallen far. At least the Bolshevik secret police exerted deadly control over society for the sake of moving the Russia of the czars into the industrialized future. Russia was, after all, the first country to launch a satellite, and then a person, into space. Mr. Putin’s cultural crackdown, by contrast, will succeed only in driving Russia backward.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Opinion | A golden generation at risk — Inside the battle brewing within Canada SoccerInside the battle for the soul of Canadian soccer. The dispute with our national teams is rooted in whether Canada Soccer is about to squander the greatest generation of players this country has ever seen. Column by bruce_arthur
Read more »
Zelensky seeks more sanctions, as fighting grinds on in Ukraine after anniversary of Russian invasionUkraine’s military on Saturday reported 27 Russian air strikes and 75 attacks from multiple rocket launchers in the most recent 24-hour spell
Read more »
Opinion: Record high employment, yet slowing inflation and flat growth – what gives?The traditional relationship between economic activity, wage growth and inflation does not seem to hold any more
Read more »
RUSSIAN ROULETTE: Putin's threats not cracking Ukraine resolveRussian President Vladimir Putin was spewing bravado and armed to the eyeballs with confidence.
Read more »
RUSSIAN ROULETTE: Putin's threats not cracking Ukraine resolveRussian President Vladimir Putin was spewing bravado and armed to the eyeballs with confidence.
Read more »
Opinion | Here come the bridal lawsuits: Wedding planners allege drama behind Brooklyn Beckham-Nicola Peltz nuptialsNew courtroom documents in suit by planners Nicole Braghin and Arianna Grijalba only add to the fizz of the $3.5-million wedding.
Read more »