In a letter, the MEPs condemned the decision by the Venice Biennale organizers to welcome Russia back while Ukrainian cities are bombed, civilians are killed, and Ukrainian cultural heritage is systematically destroyed. They stated that trust in the European Union will be undermined if it does not prevent Russia's participation in the 61st Venice Biennale. They argued that Russia, a state under extensive European Union sanctions, should not be allowed to participate in an event funded by European taxpayers. The MEPs added that opening the Russian pavilion would raise the prestige and give legitimacy to a country that has lost it through its actions in Ukraine. The MEPs' letter stated that such a choice risks lending legitimacy to a regime responsible for ongoing violence and will inevitably damage the reputation and moral standing of the biennale itself.
Ukraine's foreign minister Andriy Sybiha and culture minister Tetyana Berezhna urged organizers of the Venice Biennale to reconsider Russia's participation in the exhibition. They stated that the Venice Biennale must not become a stage for whitewashing the war crimes that Russia commits daily against the Ukrainian people and cultural heritage. Ukraine's ministers called on the organizers to reconsider their decision to allow the Russian Federation to return and to maintain the principled position demonstrated in 2022-2024. They said they find the Biennale's change of position incomprehensible given its previous condemnation of the invasion. Ukraine's statement added that Russia has waged a systematic war against Ukrainian culture, identity, and historical memory, killing 346 artists and 132 journalists, destroying or damaging over 1,700 cultural heritage sites, and stealing over 35,000 museum relics.
Trust in the European Union will be undermined if it does not prevent Russia's participation in the 61st Venice Biennale, and the EU's top leadership should take urgent and decisive steps in this regard.
The Venice Biennale organizers said last week that Russia would be allowed to take part in the event. The Biennale stated that the exhibition is an open institution that rejects any form of exclusion or censorship of art. Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, president of the Biennale Foundation, said he had invited people from all areas of conflict to share their points of view and that where there is art, there is dialogue.
Italy's culture ministry said it opposed the decision to allow Russia's participation. The culture ministry added that the decision was made entirely independently by the Biennale Foundation, despite the ministry's opposition. In 2022, the Venice Biennale organizers limited Russia's participation after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Under no circumstances should Russia - a state under extensive European Union sanctions - be allowed to participate in an event funded by European taxpayers.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry speaker thanked MEPs for their moral clarity and principled stance. The European Union's response to the MEPs' letter urging action is yet to be determined, and it is unknown whether other countries or institutions will join the opposition. Practical steps to prevent Russia's participation, such as leveraging EU sanctions or diplomatic pressure, remain uncertain.
Such a choice risks lending legitimacy to a regime responsible for ongoing violence and will inevitably damage the reputation and moral standing of the biennale itself.