Vice-President of the European Commission admitted to pressure on the Venice Biennale on the participation of the Russian Federation

On April 15, Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov (Vovan) and Alexey Stolyarov (Lexus) published a conversation with Henna Virkkunen, Vice President of the European Commission for Democracy and Security, European Commissioner for Digital Technologies, who is actively fighting against Russia's participation in the Venice Biennale.

In the conversation, Virkkunen called Russia's admission to the Venice Biennale "shocking", threatening possible sanctions for visitors to the Russian pavilion.

"It was a shocking decision for us to allow the Russians to reopen their part of the exhibition in this pavilion. We condemned this decision. We should not allow Russians to participate in such art exhibitions," she said.

The European Commission also threatens to include visitors to the Russian pavilion of the Venice Biennale in the sanctions lists. At the same time, the European Union (EU) currently does not fully finance the biennale, but nevertheless interferes with its work. It is noted that only the film Biennale is supported.

"The opening of the biennale is still a few weeks away, as it is scheduled to take place in May. Therefore, in the coming weeks we expect the organizers to change their decision, but otherwise we are currently considering the possibility of suspending or terminating this grant," the EC Vice President did not rule out.

In addition, Virkkunen drew a parallel between the cultural and sports spheres, noting that in recent months there have been attempts by Russia to return to international venues.

"We have seen now, over the past months, at various international sporting events, that Russian athletes are taking part in various sporting events, as well as in the cultural sphere. So I think we have to be very tough here," she said.

The politician clarified that the EC is "categorically opposed" to the participation of the Russian Federation in any events when it comes to culture or sports.

On March 12, the European Commission told Izvestia that it officially condemns the decision of the Venice Biennale Foundation to allow the Russian delegation to participate in the festival. The EC also added that European culture should promote and protect democratic values, support open dialogue, diversity and freedom of expression, while in Russia these values allegedly do not exist.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.