During the meeting of the Council of the European Union for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport, held in Luxembourg, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Piotr Gliński called for the removal of Russian classical and contemporary culture from public space. 

“Now is not the time for Russian ballet, let alone the Alexandrov Choir. It is not the season for Chekhov or even Pushkin. Russian culture should disappear from public space”, said Minister Gliński on the sidelines of the meeting of the Council. 

He drew attention to the significant contribution of the Russian Federation to culture, but he believes that this culture should face obstacles to popularization today. 

According to Deputy Prime Minister Gliński, it is necessary to strengthen the actions of all EU Member States to support Ukrainians, as well as to establish sanctions in culture in relations with the Russian Federation. In this regard, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage called for specific actions, in particular, to suspend state cultural ties with Moscow. 

During his speech at the Council forum, Deputy Prime Minister Gliński stated that a debate and revision of the cultural foundations of contemporary Europe is necessary in order to prevent getting used to the current situation. He recalled that Poland proposed a joint position of the EU Ministers of Culture to impose real sanctions on Russia in the area of culture. His position was supported yet by seven countries. 

Adrian Andrzejewski