Key points
- The EU has imposed sanctions on Russian cultural, scientific, sports and military figures – nine people in total.
- Among them are Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky, Russia’s first deputy minister of culture Sergei Obryvalin, and acting president of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov.
- Rapper Timur Yunusov, known as Timati, has also been placed under sanctions.
- The 20th sanctions package also bans mirror sites of Russia Today, Sputnik and other Russian propaganda outlets.
The European Union has published a new sanctions list targeting figures from Russia’s cultural, scientific, sporting and military sectors. The restrictions were introduced in response to their support for Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture has reported.
The European Union’s decision sends an important signal: culture, science and sport cannot be used as cover to legitimise aggression.
– Tetiana Berezhna, Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture of Ukraine.
The list comprises nine individuals. Among them are:
- Sergei Obryvalin, First Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation;
- Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum;
- Andrei Polyakov, Director of the Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
- Nikolai Makarov, Director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
From the sporting sector, those sanctioned include:
- Mikhail Mamiashvili, President of the Russian Wrestling Federation and Vice-President of the Executive Committee of United World Wrestling;
- Stanislav Pozdnyakov, Acting President of the Russian Olympic Committee.
The list also features:
- Aleksei Rtishchev, Head of the Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence Troops of the Russian Federation;
- Timur Yunusov, the rapper known as Timati;
- Anton Anisimov, Editor-in-Chief of Sputnik International Broadcasting.
The sanctions involve a ban on entry into EU countries, the freezing of assets and other restrictive measures. The 20th sanctions package also prohibits mirror sites of Russia Today, Sputnik and other Russian propaganda outlets.
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