Medinsky called people who call Repin a Ukrainian artist illiterate

People who call Russian artist Ilya Repin Ukrainian are illiterate and stupid. This was announced on Thursday, April 16, by Vladimir Medinsky, assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

"There will always be stupid illiterate people," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

Accordingly, Medinsky commented on the recorded change in Repin's nationality by the staff of the Finnish Athenaeum Museum. The Russian leader's aide added that this trend will continue as long as illiterate people exist. He expressed the hope that the world would "become smarter" after some time.

"Tearful Americans applauded the story of the heroic deed of Russian women"

The former star of Evgeny Kuznetsov's Sovremennik talks about money for Efremov's performances, the mounted police for The Naked King and Broadway for Volchek

The fact that Finnish art critics considered Repin a Ukrainian became known on the same day. Pavel Kuznetsov, the Russian ambassador to Helsinki, described the situation as absurd. In his opinion, it could have happened because of Russophobia, which in turn began to affect culture.

On September 12, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in turn, called culture important for countering Russophobia and neo-Nazism.