As international institutions investigate atrocities in Ukraine and cultural spaces become arenas of political meaning, the question is no longer about art alone, but about the ethical boundaries of participation. Welcoming Russia into major cultural events (biennials, film festivals, sports) whitewashes its crimes. Concrete examples show how the war has already prompted boycotts and bans: for instance, in March 2022 the Cannes Film Festival prohibited official Russian delegations, and Russia was barred from Eurovision 2022.
By contrast, recent decisions to let Russia back onstage have provoked outrage – notably the 2026 Venice Biennale decision elicited EU funding threats and calls by 22 EU culture ministers to reverse it.
The ICC and UN human-rights bodies are actively investigating Russian officials for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Ukraine. Hosting Russia at cultural venues now would violate these obligations and undermine international law.
In practice, admitting Russia is harmful.
International audiences see it as tacit approval of aggression and propaganda. The EU has signaled it will withdraw support from any festival that provides a platform to Kremlin-connected figures.
Cultural institutions that have profited from Russian sponsorship are now under scrutiny (for example, Russian oligarch donors have been urged to step down at the UK’s Tate and Royal Academy).
In the Netherlands, the Hermitage Amsterdam museum (a Russian satellite) rebranded as “Dutch Heritage” and dropped Russian connections.
In the museum world, even shipping museum pieces has become fraught: in April 2022, Finland detained three art shipments (≈€42 million) en route to Russia over suspected sanctions violations.
These cases underline that allowing Russian “normalcy” abroad has real diplomatic and reputational costs. Allowing Russia in means forgetting the victims of its aggressive politics. As Ukrainian and European leaders emphasize, culture must not be used to legitimize violence.
Venice’s biennale – the preeminent art exhibition – has been a flashpoint. Russia did not participate in 2022 or 2024 after it unveiled the war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, but the announcement that Russia would open a pavilion in 2026 provoked a storm.
In March 2026 Italy’s culture minister called for the resignation of the Biennale’s Italian board member over the issue.
Twenty-two European culture ministers signed a letter urging the Biennale to reconsider, warning that giving Russia a “prestigious international cultural platform” sends a “deeply troubling signal” and risks legitimizing its “ongoing war” and destruction of Ukrainian culture.
The European Commission joined in: EU Culture and Tech Commissioners warned that the decision was “not compatible with the EU’s collective response” and threatened to pull the Biennale’s €2 million EU grant if Russia’s pavilion went ahead.
Inviting Russia’s government-backed pavilion is a political decision, not a suppression of art.
Venice Biennale organizers have defended openness, but even they noted Ukraine’s strong objection. We should note that in Russia itself, free cultural expression is already heavily curtailed: anti-war artists have been jailed or forced into exile.
So the likelihood that a major Russian pavilion or delegation will contain genuine dissenters is small. Indeed, the Ukrainian Institute of Culture explicitly urges: “Cancel any cooperation with Russian artists… who… have not publicly condemned the war”.
Culture is never neutral. To tolerate Russia’s participation in major cultural events now would be to signal indifference to the destruction of Ukrainian culture and to undermine international norms of justice.
The international community has already begun to draw this line. Barring Russia from the global cultural stage is not only justified by law and morality, but necessary for the credibility and conscience of cultural institutions worldwide.
