► Wen Observer Network Yan Shanshan
After the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the United States and Europe waved the "sanctions stick" against Russia, and international organizations and industry associations also "rolled" a wave of "sanctions" against Russia, from banning Russian athletes from participating in the competition and suspending the release of movies in Russia, to the cats that extended their "claws" to Russia, seeing more and more outrageous, cultural performance institutions have also come to join in the fun.
According to the British "Guardian" reported on March 1, because of the situation in Russia and Ukraine, a number of theaters in the United Kingdom and Ireland have temporarily cancelled the performances of the Russian Ballet. From "Swan Lake" to "The Nutcracker", the classic ballet composed by Tchaikovsky has been "sealed" over and over again. Even if these European theaters are unable to protect themselves due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, they still insist on refunding tickets to "solidarity" with Ukraine.
The Russian Siberian State Ballet performs in Northampton, UK
Performances by several Russian ballet companies were cancelled
The Guardian reported that Russia's military campaign sparked a reaction from Western culture and sports circles, and That Russian artists and art groups were beginning to be influenced by the Kremlin's decisions.
A few days ago, the Royal Opera House cancelled the performance of the Bolshoi Ballet this summer.
Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet is one of the leading ballet companies with international acclaim. The troupe was scheduled to perform 21 performances at the Royal Opera House from 26 July to 14 August this year.
The explanation given by the Royal Opera House for the sudden call for a halt was: "Although the summer performances of the Bolshoi Ballet have entered the final preparatory stage, unfortunately, under the current circumstances, this season cannot continue to advance." ”
On February 28, the Royal Wakefield Theatre announced the cancellation of Swan Lake, which was scheduled for October 18 by the Russian National Ballet. The announcement also said that after the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, the operation of the theater has been affected and has not been able to ease up, but in the current situation in Ukraine, even if the refund will suffer huge economic losses, they are not spared.
Prior to this, the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre in the central British city of Wolverhampton and the Royal & Derngate Theatre in Northampton, England, also temporarily cancelled performances by the Russian Siberian State Ballet, with the Royal Derngate Theatre announcing cancellations even on the day of the performance.
Russia's Siberian State Ballet has been performing in the UK since 2007 and was supposed to present a three-night show at the Royal Derngate Theatre – the ballets Cinderella, Snow Girl and The Nutcracker.
On February 26, the Royal Derngate Theatre tweeted: "In view of the situation in Ukraine, the theater has decided to cancel today's performance of the Russian State Ballet. "The theatre apologized to the audience for the inconvenience caused and promised a full refund.
The Reason given by the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre was the same, saying that even if the theater's financial situation would be significantly affected, it was "entirely the right decision" to cancel the performance scheduled for February 28-March 2 as the Russians approached Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
According to the BBC, theatres in Bristol, Edinburgh, Bournemouth, Southend, Peterborough and other places have also followed suit in response to the cancellation of performances.
British Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries welcomed this, adding: "We cannot allow representatives of the Russian government to continue to perform in the UK, and I fully support those performing institutions that are on the side of the Ukrainian people." ”
In addition, on February 25, the Helix Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, cancelled the Swan Lake performance of the Royal Ballet of Moscow.
On 26 February, The Boulder Ghaith Energy Theatre (formerly the Grand Canal Theatre) in Dublin also announced the cancellation of Swan Lake, originally scheduled for 29 March-3 April by St. Petersburg Ballet.
The "sanctions" list is becoming increasingly absurd
After the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the "sanctions" wind led by the United States and Europe has blown all over the areas that can be blown. Wang Fan, vice president of the China Foreign Affairs University, believed in an interview with CCTV that the situation in Russia and Ukraine has triggered fission within Europe and has also had a series of impacts on the humanities.
According to Italian media reports, Paolo Nori, a teacher at the University of Milano-Bikoka, said that he had received a notice from the university to postpone the teaching of Dostoevsky's related courses in order to "avoid any form of controversy." ”
According to a report by Deutsche Welle on March 1, Valery Gergiev, a well-known Russian conductor and principal conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany, because he has always refused to publicly condemn Russia's "attack" on Ukraine, did not cooperate after Munich Mayor Dieter wright issued an ultimatum, and lost his job as chief conductor, although his contract still had three years to expire. Germany-based Felsner Artists also announced the termination of its contract with Gergiev.
Another Russian "national treasure" artist also suffered injustice. Due to the silence over the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, several performances by the famous Russian soprano Anna Netrebko were forced to cancel. In 2014, Anna Neribek sang the Olympic anthem at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
On February 27 of this year, Nellibeko was forced to speak out about the situation in Russia and Ukraine, hoping that the war would end and peace would be restored, but stressed: "It is wrong to force artists or any public figure to publicly express their political views and condemn their homeland." This should be a free choice. I am not a politician or a political expert. I'm an artist, and my goal is to bring people together across political divides. ”
Anna Nellibeko's performance ended
In addition, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organizer of the Eurovision Song Contest, known as the "Voice of Europe", announced that "in order not to tarnish this prestigious song contest in Europe", Russians will not be allowed to participate in this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
At the same time, Disney and Warner in the United States suspended the release of movies in Russia. The Festival de Cannes issued a statement saying that unless "the war ends in conditions satisfactory to the Ukrainians," "the Festival of Cannes does not welcome the participation of official Russian delegations and does not accept anyone associated with the Russian government."
This is true of the literary and artistic circles, and the sports world is not absent. Recently, the International Judo Federation and the Taekwondo Federation have cancelled Putin's honorary status.
On February 25, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged all international sports federations to reschedule or cancel sporting events scheduled for Russia or Belarus. On the 28th, the International Olympic Committee also recommended that international sports associations and other sports organizers no longer invite athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus to participate in and attend international sports events.
The IOC also announced the revocation of the Olympic Medal, which had previously been awarded to Russian officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Chernishenko, and Deputy Director of the Office of the Russian President Kozak.
Groups and individuals in Russia cannot escape, and even more absurdly, cats have also been "sanctioned". On March 1, the International Federation of Felines (FIFe) announced that any cat bred in Russia could not be registered on the official FIFe pedigree outside Russia. At the same time, pet exhibitors in Russia are not allowed to participate in any FIFe pet show outside Russia.
This wave of "sanctions" can no longer see the boundaries, and the Western society that once preached "literature has no borders", "art has no borders", and "sports have no borders" is punching itself in the face over and over again.
Russian Blue Cat (Source: Zooplus Magazine)
According to the Guardian, these acts of interfering in cultural performances under the banner of "anti-war" are actually absurd in the eyes of many local audiences.
On the evening of February 25, local time, outside the Royal Dengate Theatre in Northampton, England, many people expressed solidarity with the dancers of the Russian Siberian State Ballet.
Bidwell, a northampton resident, and her mother said in an interview that the Russian dancers must have been nervous about what kind of notice they would receive from the theater, "It's not their fault, we shouldn't punish them." ”
Another male audience member with a yellow tie and a blue shirt who supported Ukraine in the color of his clothes also said: "We can do a lot to help, but cancellation [ballet] is not one of them." ”
A citizen named Penny said she understood that some people were uncomfortable watching the Russian dance company's performance at this time, thinking that it might represent their pro-Russian counterpart, "but this is not the case." It's art, no matter where it comes from, it's beautiful things. ”
Under the announcement of the cancellation of performances in some theaters, the opposition has not ceased to be heard.
"It wasn't a right decision. Are we going to cancel everything that has to do with Russia? I think we're going to ban Russian food and lay off Russian employees. This is a mistake in judgment and too much. I think innocent Russians living in Britain will have a hard time during this time. ”
Some people bluntly say that this punishment of artists and audiences is too harsh, and it is time to call for unity rather than dividing people by nationality, "Are we going to ban all Russian art, literature, film, music ...?!" ”
Source | Observer Network