Ukrainian-Italian community disparages performances by touring Russian theaters

ROME – Ukrainians took to the streets in the Italian capital to voice their condemnation of Russian ballet troupes that are on tour from Moscow and Saint Petersburg. 

The Ukrainian-Italian community decried the scheduled performances from the Mariinsky and Bolshoi theaters, according to a Jan. 7 video report by The Ukrainians of Europe news agency. 

A sizable demonstration took place over the weekend near the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome.  

Rally organizers expressed their frustration over the myth of a “great Russian culture” that pervades in the minds of many people in Western Europe. Their approach, the organizers said, attempts to separate sports and culture from politics, a strategy Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin effectively exploits.  

“Putin doesn’t only use bombs and grenades. He also uses cultural and sports figures as weapons to promote his ideas in Western Europe,” said Oles Horodetskyi, head of the Christian Society of Ukrainians in Italy and a protest leader.  

None of the dancers and other performance artists from the Mariinsky and Bolshoi theaters, nor their leadership, have publicly condemned Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. Both theaters are led by Valery Gergiev, a  close ally of Putin. 

The former has openly supported  Putin, leading to sanctions against him by some European Union countries.