Cultural 'cleansing' against Russia threatens shared heritage amid Ukraine war

Amid the war in Ukraine, the cultural sector has mobilized with protests, resignations, and humanitarian aid. Vladimir Opredelenov, deputy director of the Pushkin Museum, resigned. Russia will not be represented at the 2022 Venice Biennale after the withdrawal of artists Alexandra Sukhareva and Kirill Savchenkov and curator Raimundas Malašauskas. The Civic Museums of Bergamo and MAXXI in Rome are donating ticket proceeds to Caritas for Ukrainian humanitarian aid. Elena Kovalskaya resigned from the Meyerhold State Theatre and Cultural Centre in Moscow. At the San Carlo Theatre in Naples, dancer Karina Samoylenko (Ukrainian mother, Russian father) appealed for peace, and Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska and Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova embraced after Aida. However, there is a risk of cultural 'cleansing' against Russia. Conductor Tugan Sokhiev resigned from the Bolshoi Theatre and the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, protesting the war and the pressure to choose between Russian and Western composers. Uffizi director Eike Schmidt opposed ostracizing Russian culture. The Faro Convention, ratified by Ukraine in 2014 and Italy in 2020, affirms the right to cultural heritage. The UN recognized culture as key to recovery. The article warns that cultural heritage is being destroyed on both sides, with historical artifacts hidden or taken across borders, and calls for preserving shared identity.