Lithuanian culture minister calls for ‘conscious pause’ on Russian culture

Lithuanian Minister of Culture Simonas Kairis called for a “conscious pause” in relation to Russian culture in connection with Russia’s special operation in Ukraine. About this he declared on the air of the program “LRT forumas” of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT).

He emphasized that “authoritarian” state decisions should not be made, but one should rely on the conscience of people and institutions. According to him, we are talking about “mental quarantine” – a temporary rejection of Russian culture. As noted by Kairis, this term was proposed by the writer Kristina Sabaliauskaite.

As the publication clarifies, the participants in the discussion – representatives of the cultural sphere – opposed the appeal published by the Minister of Culture of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko on December 7, in which he calls for the promotion of Russian culture to be abandoned, and noted that such a ban at the state level cannot be. Opera singer Vaidas Vishnyauskas called for attention to how Western European countries relate to Russian culture and continue the classical repertoire. The head of the Scanorama festival, Grazhyna Arlitskaite, said on air that she does not support the boycott as a panacea, but expressed the opinion that in the historical context it is now “insensitive” to show Russian films.

At the same time, art manager Gintautas Kevišas said that he considers the choice of Modest Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov for the opening of the season by Milan’s La Scala Opera House a “complete misunderstanding” – according to him, this decision is the “French arrogance” of the current head of the theater.

The head of the Grand Duke’s Palace, Vidas Dolinskas, offered to “take a break” from Russian culture and said that this would not be a loss.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, reacted to Kairis’s statements made on the air. “Simonas, the minister of lack of culture, I can make you happy – you have been in mental quarantine for a long time, judging by your statements. Thanks for voicing. I will not hide, we puzzled over the diagnosis for a long time. Your recognition pulls on the world award. I don’t understand which one: either Nobel, or Darwin, ”- wrote She is in her Telegram channel.

All attempts to cancel Russia and Russian culture are futile, declared August 15, 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin in his address to the participants and guests of the fourth Tavrida.ART festival in Crimea. At a meeting with the winners of the Presidential Prizes for young cultural figures and for works for children and youth on March 25, 2022, Putin also criticized “cancellation culture” in Western countries and said that it was impossible to imagine such a thing in Russia. According to the head of state, the “culture of cancellation” has turned into a “cancellation of culture”: works by composers Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Dmitry Shostakovich and Sergei Rachmaninov are being discriminated against.