“I will not allow Putin to take Chekhov away from me!” – said the local Minister of Culture, Claudia Roth.
Aggressive statements of the authorities of the Russian Federation regarding the West and its aggressive war in Ukraine should not be a reason to boycott Russian culture. This opinion was expressed by the German Minister of Culture and Mass Media Klaudia Roth.
In an interview with Augsburger Allgemeine, a representative of the German government said that she considers it wrong to boycott Russian culture, which is “a great asset for the world.” She spoke critically about a recent case in one of the German cities, where the local mayor forbade a musical orchestra to perform the works of the composer Tchaikovsky.
Roth noted that the discussion of measures related to with Russian culture, and still continues. According to her, there are different opinions about the boycott in government circles. As for the minister herself, her position is obvious: she is against it.
“I believe that the boycott is absolutely wrong, because often Russian artists try to preserve the last freedoms in society. Russian culture is truly great. It doesn't matter if it's music or literature, like, for example, Anton Chekhov… I won't let Putin take Chekhov away from me!” Roth said.
Read also: Leo Tolstoy — to a distant corner: do Ukrainians need Russian literature?
As for Ukraine, in June the Verkhovna Rada banned Russian books and music .
Is it necessary to study Russian literature in Ukrainian schools? Recently, this debate is gaining momentum. People's deputy, member of the education committee of the parliament Natalya Pipa created a working group of teachers and experts who made their suggestions. And they also counted how many works of Russian writers are in our school programs. About this – in the material of Natalia Pipa “What to do with Russian writers in Ukrainian schools?”
