Sculptor Shcherbakov compared the opponents of the Russian Pavilion in Venice with the heroes of the "Demons"

Attempts to isolate Russian art and scandalous actions against the Russian presence at the Venice Biennale are reminiscent of the plot of Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Demons. This was stated on May 9 in an interview with Izvestia by People's Artist of the Russian Federation, academician, professor and sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov.

"In Italy, some scandalous people come with some ugly demonstrations, shouting. That is, it's like Dostoevsky described it in his novel The Demons. That is, they are demons, they are demons," he said.

Shcherbakov emphasized that Russian culture is a vast and deep world that cannot be isolated. According to him, it includes literature, music, iconography, avant-garde, folk crafts, constructivism and other artistic trends.

The sculptor noted that Russia has always deeply perceived the world classics and considered the works of Shakespeare or Michelangelo to be part of its cultural code. He added that Russian art encompasses both psychological depth and sublime architectural images, including St. Petersburg and the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl.

"European culture and the culture of Russia are a very valuable thing for humanity. <...> But if people want to give up some interesting, valuable information, they are only stealing from themselves. Because these are values belonging to all of humanity, the values of Russian culture," concluded Shcherbakov.

On May 6, Russian Ambassador to Italy Alexey Paramonov announced that the Russian pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale would be available to the public only until May 8. He expressed regret that the Italian leadership and the directorate of the Biennale faced "rude, assertive pressure and dictate" from representatives of the European Union (EU).

The international jury of the 61st Venice Biennale resigned on April 30. A few days earlier, on April 23, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commenting on the withdrawal of the entire project grant in the amount of € 2 million due to the decision to invite Russian representatives to the exhibition, called such a step a relapse of anti-culture in the West.

On March 12, the press service of the European Commission (EC) announced that it officially condemns the decision of the Venice Biennale Foundation to allow the Russian delegation to participate in the festival. The commission added that European culture should promote and protect democratic values, support open dialogue, diversity and freedom of expression, which allegedly does not exist in Russia.