A museum in Amsterdam announced Thursday that it had severed all ties to the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg. UNESCO also warned of potential damage to Ukraine’s cultural heritage. This was as international cultural institutions intensified their condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Hermitage Amsterdam, it has been a long-time observer of Russian politics under President Vladimir Putin. It also said that it had developed close ties with Russia’s Hermitage. This gave the Amsterdam museum access to the Hermitage’s world-famous art collection, which it could use for exhibitions.
The Dutch museum stated in a statement that Russia’s recent attack against Ukraine has made it impossible to maintain this distance. “Our Board of Directors and directors have decided not to maintain ties with the State Hermitage Museum.”
It stated that it was hopeful of restoring relations with Russia in the near future, pending peace and “changes for the future”
The Swedish Academy, which awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature to Moscow, broke with a long-standing tradition of not making political statements.
The academy stated in a statement that its history and mission were deeply rooted within the traditions of freedom, belief, and inquiry.
It stated that it joined the legion of its fellow academies and literary and cultural institutions as well as places of higher education, defenders and defenders for a free press, human right organizations, and nation states to express our disgust at the Russian government’s unjustified attack against Ukraine and its people.
In the meantime, the United Nations’ cultural agency raised alarm about Ukraine’s cultural heritage by announcing that it was assessing Ukraine’s educational, cultural, and U.N.-designated heritage locations.
Ukraine has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including The famous St. Sophia Cathedral as well as related monastic buildings in Kyiv. The U.N. also lists sites in Lviv, Odesa (Black Sea port), and Kharkiv (2nd largest). The invading Russian forces have subjected all four cities to artillery and air bombardment.
Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s director-general, stated that “We must protect this cultural heritage as a witness of the past, but also as a channel of peace for the future.”
Azoulay stated that the agency was working with Ukrainian authorities in order to quickly identify key historical monuments and sites throughout Ukraine using an internationally recognized sign for protection of cultural heritage in case of conflict.
UNESCO will also host a meeting with the nation’s museum directors in order to assist them in protecting cultural property and museum collections as the war rages.
According to the statement, at least seven educational institutions were damaged by attacks in the last week. This includes the Karazin National University in Kharkiv, which was attacked on Wednesday.
Hollywood joined international film festivals and orchestras in blacklisting Russia. Promoting Ukrainian artists as a gesture of solidarity.
Russian Ballet Theatre, a ballet company that specializes in this style with a multi-national cast, is currently touring the U.S.A. and has renamed itself RBT Ballet Theatre. We stand with Ukraine.
