August 18, 2022

Kremlin Cancels Culture


Kremlin Cancels Culture
"Don't be foreigners' puppets." Ilya Varlamov (Twitter post)

Not even film directors, stage actors, or movie stars are safe from falling afoul of Russian authorities if they speak out against the war in Ukraine.

August 3 saw the first meeting of the Russian legislature's Working Group for the Investigation of Anti-Russian Activities in the Cultural Sphere (known by its Russian acronym, GRAD). At the meeting, GRAD published and discussed a blacklist of cultural figures who have expressed discontent with the war in Ukraine.

According to GRAD, these figures must either "publicly admit that they were wrong, in the form of a critical assessment of the special operation in Ukraine," or resign their positions. Some will be required to undergo "educational work."

The list has 56 names, including film director Fyodor Bondarchuk, TV host Ivan Urgant, and theater actor Danila Kozlovsky. Also included are political scientists, journalists, and creatives.

According to the leader of GRAD, politician and author Zakhar Prilepin, the group's purpose is "to correct the personnel policy of the state in the field of culture." Per other members of GRAD, the intelligentsia that these individuals represent is a "liberal mafia" that holds "an anti-people position" of "Russophobic ideas."

This action comes amid a continuing crackdown on dissent as the invasion of Ukraine continues. Several other cultural figures, even those with an international following, have already come under fire.

 

You Might Also Like

Life Impacts Art
  • August 07, 2022

Life Impacts Art

Two female Russian artists discuss how their life and work has been impacted by Russia's Ukraine War.
Sci-fi Author, Meet Dystopia
  • June 14, 2022

Sci-fi Author, Meet Dystopia

A well-known science fiction author has been placed on the Kremlin's wanted list for protesting the war in Ukraine.
Detained on Victory Day
  • May 17, 2022

Detained on Victory Day

Over 125 citizens were detained during Immortal Regiment processions across Russia.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955