German Culture Ministry against Boycott of Russian Culture

Claudia Roth, German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, has spoken out against boycotting Russian culture amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to Tagesschau, Roth said at the Frankfurt Book Fair that she does not believe in a "cultural boycott of everything of Russian origin".

"The Russian language is not Putin's property," Roth stressed.

She added that there is an "other Russia" in the form of human rights activists, writers, dissidents, the younger generation, as well as members of the LGBT and environmental movements, who are subjected to mass persecution.

The cultural boycott "will hit exactly these critical voices against Putin," Roth said.

In her opinion, it is crucial to make these voices heard and "to be careful to support them in Russia so as not to put them in even greater danger."

In September, Claudia Roth was criticised by world film stars for her attitude to the artistic management of the Berlin Film Festival.

Earlier, the Berlin State Opera did not heed the appeals of Ukrainians and the Ukrainian Embassy and refused to exclude Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko from a production of Macbeth.