This Friday, the Russian government appointed maestro Valeri Guergiev as director of the Bolshoi Theater, a supporter of President Vladimir Putin, determined to also mobilize the world of culture in its confrontation with the West.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin “signed the decision on the appointment of Valeri Guerguiev to the position of general director of the Bolshoi Theater for a period of five years,” the government said on Telegram.
Last year, numerous Western orchestras boycotted the 70-year-old maestro and traditional supporter of President Putin, for not having denounced the Russian offensive against Ukraine that began in February 2022.
Valeri Guerguiev, who has also been director of the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg since 1996, the city where Vladimir Putin began his political career in the early 1990s, will now direct the country’s two main stages.
Putin suggested in March 2022 to merge the management of the two prestigious theaters, as was customary before the 1917 revolution.
Guerguiev’s closeness with the head of the Kremlin, especially during the annexation of Crimea in 2014, has led to several controversies.
In March 2022, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra decided to fire him for failing to denounce the Ukraine attack. Likewise, several orchestras and festivals in Europe and the United States canceled their commitments to the musician.
So far, the conductor has not made any statement about the conflict. At the beginning of the year he toured China, but currently regularly conducts in Russia.
His appointment occurs at a time when NGOs and media denounce a cultural purge in Russia, with dismissals or flight of artists who have been critical of power and who have not shown their support publicly.
Valeri Guerguiev replaces Vladimir Urin at the Bolshoi. In February 2022, as soon as military actions began in Ukraine, Urin signed an open letter calling for an end to the war and which was signed by nearly 2,000 personalities from the world of culture.
The Russian media advanced the information about Urin’s early departure from the Bolshoi in mid-November, Efe reports. According to Forbes magazine, the decision is related to his critical stance towards the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
“None of the heads of cultural institutions who signed a letter against the ‘special operation’ will remain in office until 2024,” the magazine wrote.