Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and, endowed as they are with reason and conscience, should behave towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
It is unworthy for countries that claim to be “civilized” or that call themselves “developed” that a person, just because he or she is “Russian”, whether by birth or naturalization, is suddenly publicly singled out as an “enemy”. The most serious thing is that hundreds of communication transnationals are aiming all their heaviest artillery, generating a “Russophobia” that, with the technological capabilities we have today, is spreading like a pandemic throughout the world.
Giuseppe Sala, mayor of Milan, Italy, a post he was elected to by a “center-left” coalition, after threatening and demanding the eminent conductor Valery Gergiev to publicly distance himself from his friend Vladimir Putin, was dismissed from the orchestra of the Scala Theater of Milan; with the ignominious addition that he will not be able to conduct for an indefinite period of time in that musical precinct. An absurd decision that places this great artist as if he were a “war criminal”. Incidentally, the Scala of Milan keeps its doors open as guests of honor to those who have been able to amass great fortunes thanks to the bombings in Syria, Libya and Palestine. But this is not commented, it is covered with expensive coats and exuberant jewels.
If there is one thing to be clear about, it is that artists have the right not to give in to threats and constrictions, as did Anna Netrebko, a soprano of the highest level, who suffered the same fate as Gergiev for refusing to renounce Russia, her native country. In Greece, the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, decided to cancel the live broadcast from a concert hall in Athens of the ballet “Swan Lake”, a performance of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, and to suspend cooperation with Russian cultural organizations. Probably the next step will be to ban worldwide the music of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky Korsakov, Kachaturian, etc., just because they are Russian.
Not only the world of culture, but also sport, FIFA and UEFA decreed the expulsion of Russia, while the Olympic Committee excluded a priori Russian and Belarusian citizens, unless they take off the uniform that accredits them as representatives of their countries, forcing them to compete as stateless or neutral. But what is more absurd is that this discrimination reaches even the academy, a place where dissent is one of the engines of thought. Researchers who had written scientific articles months ago now see their contributions rejected by academic journals, not for reasons of merit, but simply because they are of Russian nationality.
But these are cases that we know about because of the notoriety of the protagonists, but hundreds of Russians are now suffering such discrimination, especially in Europe, where there are numerous cafes, hotels, and tourist sites where there are now signs with “no Russians allowed” written on them, in the best of cases, when they are not loaded with vulgar epithets.
Involving art, sports, science and research in war conflicts is not a wise choice. It is a step backwards for centuries to close these spaces that should be open to dialogue, encounter and peace. There is no need to turn theaters, stadiums, universities into trenches. A Russian writer should be able to participate in a festival, a dancer should be able to perform, a footballer or a gymnast should be able to play. The pandemic should have made us more human, more sensitive because we felt infinitely vulnerable and unprotected. But it seems that the only thing it trained us in was discrimination and segregation.
Yoselina Guevara Correo del Alba’s Venezuelan Correspondent in Italy
INTERNATIONALIST 360° 