Canada sanctions director of Hermitage in St. Petersburg

For the first time, Western sanctions against Russia hit the director of theHermitage in St. Petersburg, Mikhail Piotrovsky. It is Canada that is the first country to move in this direction: in fact, it was on August 2 that a July 19 measure was published in the North American country’s official gazette in which a number of Russian cultural figures (actors, directors, musicians, singers, and producers, in addition to the Hermitage director, Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova and Science Minister Valery Falkov) are added to the list of Russians affected by Canadian restrictions: this means that they will not be able to have economic relations with Canadian entities (i.e., they will not be able to trade property, carry out transactions, receive supplies of services), nor will they be able to travel to Canada.

The sanctions against cultural figures were necessary because “Russia exploits its celebrities in the cultural sector to promote the Kremlin’s propaganda on the invasion of Ukraine,” the measure reads. “Russia,” the document continues, “is systematically destroying Ukrainian culture as part of its ongoing violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Canada is acting in concert with all Western countries to respond to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine: in fact, since February 2022, Canada has committed or delivered more than C$5 billion in assistance to Ukraine (about €3.4 billion), including military aid, cyber defense and training to Ukrainian troops in the UK and Poland, loans, resources to repair the country’s energy infrastructure, and removal of trade tariffs on Ukrainian imports. Canada has also engaged in development and humanitarian assistance and is countering disinformation fueled by Russian propaganda through the G7 rapid response mechanism. Canada is also providing security and stabilization programs, including support for civil rights organizations and human rights defenders.

Canadian sanctions since 2014 (the year of the invasion of Crimea) have targeted more than 2,500 individuals and entities in Russia, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine that have been complicit in violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and Moldova. In addition, Canada has implemented targeted restrictions against Russia and Belarus in the financial, trade (goods and services), energy and transportation sectors.

Until 2019, among other things, a foundation, the State Hermitage Museum Foundation of Canada, was operating in Canada, collaborating with the St. Petersburg museum on exhibitions and events that brought objects from Russian collections to America. The foundation had been established by Robert Kaszanits, former deputy director of the National Gallery of Canada, who also worked directly with Piotrovsky in the past. Who will therefore now not be allowed to set foot in Canada, at least until sanctions are lifted.

Canada sanctions director of Hermitage in St. Petersburg

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