UK ministers withdraw support for UK-Russia Year of Culture

UK ministers have withdrawn support for this year’s UK-Russia Year of Culture, announcing plans to boycott the programme’s events because of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March this year, The Herald Scotland has reported. The article added that the worsening diplomatic tensions between Russia and the UK, which deepened this month after a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane was shot down in eastern Ukraine, are also thought to play a role.

A spokesperson for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office said: “In light of the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia, Her Majesty’s Government has withdrawn all ministerial and senior official involvement in the Year of Culture. We review all engagement with Russia on an event by event basis.”

Separately, Scottish ministers have also distanced themselves from Russia, an attempt, according to The Herald, to make up for comments by Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond in support of President Vladimir Putin. In April, Salmond was lambasted after claiming that Putin’s patriotism was “entirely reasonable”. He added that he admired “certain aspects” of Putin’s politics and his restoration “of a substantial part of Russian pride”.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “The Scottish Government is no longer actively supporting the UK-Russia Year of Culture 2014 and Ms Hyslop [Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs] is not attending any planned Russian events taking place in Scotland under this initiative.”

By contrast, the British Council, which organises the events programme in the UK, has reaffirmed its commitment to the Year of Culture despite the controversy linked to supporting events connected to Russia.

In an official statement, a spokesman from the British Council said: “We completely understand and respect the decision of anyone who chooses not to participate. However, as the British Council is a non-political organisation committed to people-to-people engagement, we hope that, wherever possible, exhibitions, shows and performances in Russia will go ahead as planned.”

The statement added: “We’re naturally concerned about the situation in Ukraine and the current political tensions. When political or diplomatic relations become difficult we believe that cultural exchange helps to maintain open dialogue between people and institutions.”

This is not the first time the UK-Russia Year of Culture has suffered. In June, two major events — a show by Russian art group AES+F at London’s Royal Academy of Arts and a retrospective of Young British Artists in Moscow — were cancelled due to funding issues. A third exhibition, a retrospective of graffiti artist Banksy in Moscow, was cancelled with a vaguely-worded statement from organisers blaming British art collectors for “abandoning their participation in the project, making it impossible to continue working”.

Polish ministers have also shown their frustration with Russia’s involvement in Ukraine and Crimea, with the government cancelling the Polish-Russian Year of Culture scheduled for next year.