Key points
- Ukraine has imposed sanctions on five Russian cultural figures.
- All of them are linked to Russia’s participation in the 61st Venice Biennale.
- The sanctions target individuals who support the war against Ukraine and spread Russian propaganda through cultural channels.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree imposing sanctions on five Russian cultural figures linked to Russia’s participation in the 61st Venice Biennale, the Presidential Office reported.
The sanctions target individuals who publicly support or justify Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, as well as those who use international cultural events to promote Russian propaganda.
The sanctioned individuals include:
- Anastasia Karneeva, daughter of a sanctioned deputy CEO of Rostec. Since 2021, she has served as commissioner of the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale and is set to represent Russia there this year.
- Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation. He has repeatedly publicly supported the war against Ukraine and stated that Russia’s participation in the Biennale proves that Russian culture is not isolated.
Also included are Russian participants representing the country at this year’s Venice Biennale:
- violinist Valeria Oleinik, who has repeatedly visited the temporarily occupied Crimea since 2014;
- singer Ilya Tatakov, involved in producing propaganda films in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk region;
- vocalist Artyom Nikolaev, who took part in propaganda events in Crimea in 2025.
Read also:
Russia has damaged 1,723 cultural heritage sites and 2,524 cultural infrastructure facilities in Ukraine
