Russophobic discrimination continues happening with impunity in the West, and now the Russian culture is the main target. Writes Lucas Leiroz
The irrational hatred incited by the pro-NATO media against the Russian people in reaction to the special military operation in Ukraine continues to gain strength around the world. Russian citizens in the diaspora who have nothing to do with the government or the military are often affected by anti-Russian animosity. However, the main target today seems to be Russian culture, which is increasingly fought and “canceled” by Westerners.
In a recent statement during a UNESCO’s conference in Mexico, Sergei Obryvalin, First Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, commented on the issue of Russophobia and expressed deep concern about the current global rejection of Russian culture. He said he considers the way the West deals with cultural matters an “unnecessary and harmful politicization”. More than that, Obryvalin even denounced the existence of Russophobic tendencies in UNESCO’s forum itself, where discriminatory speeches and untrue narratives about an alleged “destruction” of other cultures by Russia proliferate.
“Egregious cases of cultural discrimination against Russia and Russian citizens are happening everywhere in Western countries (…) False accusations [against] Russia of alleged destruction of cultural heritage are nothing but a manifestation of the policy of cultural genocide against Russia and Russians (…) Such facts, of course, cause us grief and serious concern (…) [Russia] consistently maintains a careful attitude to cultural heritage, historical memory, freedom of literary, artistic and other forms of creativity, [as well as] ensures pluralism of opinions and openness of the cultural sphere (…) No one is able to cancel the unique Russian civilization and rich culture, to destroy or shake Russia”, he said during the speech.
There was no response from UNESCO’s officials regarding the allegations that the organization acts in complicity with the anti-Russian discourse. Representatives from 193 countries attended the event and spoke at different times, but this topic was not mentioned by any of them. The case reflected in the field of culture something that has become increasingly common on the international scenario: the silence on the part of organizations when Moscow denounces something wrong. In recent months, international organizations only make pronouncements if it is aimed at condemning Russia, while always ignoring when Russian officials file complaints.
However, the evident reality of cultural Russophobia cannot be ignored. Since February, irrational reactions to the anti-Nazi operation initiated by Moscow have been promoted around the world, mainly in Western countries, including the banning of Russian or Russian-translated books, cancellation of Russian musical concerts and even boycotting Russian-made food and drink. Classical authors of Russian literature have also been removed from Western academic courses as a way of “protesting” against military moves in Ukraine, which is something that undoubtedly causes great cultural damage, considering Russia’s importance in world literary history.
This cultural intolerance is just one of the many faces of the Russophobic racism that has become vital to Western “responses” against Russia. Cases of physical violence against Russian citizens have also occurred all over the world. Orthodox churches have been vandalized. Social networks have encouraged racism and pro-aggression speech against Russian citizens. In fact, there are attempts to “anathematize” the Russian people in every way possible. And, in this sense, cultural cancellation seems to be a fundamental strategy to be followed by Westerners.
In fact, with these attitudes the West becomes more and more like its Ukrainian proxy in the way it deals with the Russians. For the past eight years, Kiev has been promoting direct and explicit persecution of Russian people and culture. Not by chance, one of the first laws passed by the Maidan government was the abolition of the co-official language policy in ethnically Russian zones, which allowed the use of Russian language in official documents.
With the beginning of Russian participation in the conflict, Kiev has further radicalized its racist policies, with the Ukrainian parliament in June this year passing a bill to ban books and songs wrote by Russian authors. Ukrainian forces have also frequently performed public exhibitions of burning books in Russian language, which resembles the practices of Nazi Germany (a major inspiration for the Ukrainian government).
The West, albeit under the guise of liberal “democracy”, is moving in the same direction. Russian culture is gradually criminalized and violence against Russian citizens takes place without any restrictions, in absolute impunity. This only tends to further exacerbate international tensions and diplomatic frictions. The West’s Nazification process can in no way be tolerated by Moscow, which tends to move away from international organizations that tolerate racism and form new axes of international decision-making, in partnership with emerging countries that also historically struggle against discriminatory practices.
