Deputy Minister of Culture of Italy, famous art critic Vittorio Zgarbi called attempts to ban cultural ties with Russia and prevent performances of Russian artists in the West an act of violence, RIA Novosti reports.
Zgarbi especially emphasized that one can oppose the policies of the Russian government, but Dostoevsky or Rachmaninov cannot be banned. Attempts to ban cultural relations, censor concerts, and prevent singers from singing and dancers from dancing are acts of violence.
The Deputy Minister of Culture noted that this also applies to athletes who cannot participate in the Olympic Games.
Zgarbi called the idea of cancel culture crazy. He believes that culture is the opposite of war and should be encouraged. Zgarbi also considers the situation absurd when it is proposed to allow touring in the West only to those Russian artists who oppose the policies of their government.
RIA Novosti noted that Vittorio Zgarbi became the only representative of the Italian authorities who on Monday attended the concert of the famous pianist of Ukrainian origin Valentina Lisitsa, held at the residence of the Russian embassy in Rome.
Earlier it was reported that during an Italian television broadcast, a dispute between independent journalist Giampiero Mughini and art critic Vittorio Zgarbi on the topic of banning artists from the Russian Federation from performing at Italian venues escalated into a brawl.
Earlier, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine officially introduced the term “racism”.
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