The Iron Curtain Falls Over Russian Culture
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, Russia has faced many economic sanctions since, ranging from a ban on Russian coal exports to tech giants (Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, etc.) “suspending new sales or the acceptance of new customers in Russia.” Economic sanctions, however, are not the only sanctions imposed on Russia; cultural sanctions have also been placed from all around the world, most with dubious effects on the war itself.
What exactly are these “cultural sanctions?” If economic sanctions are, according to Wikipedia, “commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual,” cultural sanctions penalize countries through the isolation of their culture. Cultural sanctions have been used extensively throughout history, to various lengths. One such case is Germans during World War I. “Legal historian Paul Finkelman says in 1915 about 25 percent of all high school students in America studied German,” writes NPR, “But by the end of World War I that had changed dramatically. German had become so stigmatized that only 1 percent of high schools even taught it.” Today, as the Russo-Ukrainian war wages on, millions of people worldwide are placing cultural sanctions of their own on what is most likely one of the most influential countries in existence, Russia.
Russian culture had, and still has, a great presence in countries and cultures all around the world. For example, Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, famous for his theatrical as well as orchestral pieces, has gained fans from all around the world, with his music being played thousands of times every day. However, on the 13th of April 2022, “the World Federation of International Music Competitions has decided with an overwhelming majority of member votes to exclude the International Tchaikovsky Competition from its membership with immediate effect,” as “in the face of Russia ́s brutal war and humanitarian atrocities in Ukraine, the WFIMC as an apolitical organization cannot support or have as a member, a competition financed and used as a promotional tool by the Russian regime.” Similarly, with sports, countless Russian sports teams and athletes have been banned from competing in competitions, playing under the Russian flag, hosting competitions in Russia, and more for the same reason.
While it may appear that isolating Russia's culture from the rest of the world is morally right and supports Ukraine, proponents for the end of the war must consider whether the cultural sanctions have an impact on the war, and if so, to what extent, and whether it is worth the many opportunities individuals unrelated to the war have lost as a result. Whereas economic and political sanctions have direct effects on the military, as the military needs money to buy resources (oil, lead, etc.) to continue waging war, cultural sanctions pressure a different part of Russia, a part that some believe can affect Russia’s war effort.
Advocates for the cultural sanctions argue that said sanctions aren’t just morally correct, but serve a strategic purpose. “By identifying the fascist Russian state — and himself — with Russian language and culture, Putin has transformed the Russian language and culture into tools of the state, into vehicles of propaganda, legitimation, and aggression,” tells Alexander Motyl, a political science professor at Rutgers University, to Big Think. Thus, advocates claim that cultural sanctions must be placed to stop the spread of Russian propaganda. Interestingly, defending nations have also employed their language to defend against their intruders, mainly by asking potential spies how to pronounce specific words, which are pronounced differently in the two fighting countries/regions.
Cultural sanctions can also deprive Russian citizens of non-Russian media. For instance, Disney announced that they will cease operations in Russia, making it harder and slower for Russian citizens to watch Disney content. The theory is that Russian citizens will find life more and more intolerable as the media they consume becomes limited, and opposition of the Russian government will rise. Already, more and more brave Russians are denouncing the Kremlin through social media platforms, marches, interviews, and more. Cultural sanctions might not be the sole motivation for these protests, but at the very least give another reason for people to retaliate.
It is without a doubt that cultural sanctions have a greater influence on citizens than on Putin. However, many questions still remain: do Russian civilians deserve the sanctions because they are not retaliating against Putin? Do citizens have a moral obligation to protest the government? Should they be forced to strike, even if it means putting themselves and their families in danger?
Others argue that not all of Russian culture should be considered propaganda. Not all of Russian media and culture has come from the government as propaganda, but has also originated from the hearts of Russian individuals unrelated to any cause or stance. Similarly, individuals who consume said media and culture aren’t necessarily warmongers. How does playing a composition written by a deceased Russian man hundreds of years ago or playing a game of tennis against a Russian player make one a belligerent? Similarly, there will be no respect shown to Russia simply because a Russian family is viewing the latest Minions film. Putin will continue to wage war even if a Russian boy can’t watch a football game. They did not choose to be born Russian; all they want to do is play the piano or watch some movie.
Regardless of one’s nationality or heritage, everyone has their own story, one that deserves to be heard and understood. At the end of the day, there is no fundamental difference between a Korean pianist and a Russian pianist. They are both taught in school that music is a universal language that transcends all politics. Artists are taught in art class to express their emotions freely and to create something that brings people together. Dancers in class focus solely on their bodies and the music, telling the audience a story that is unique to each eye. Instead of causing further differences and fomenting violence, let music, art, and dancing bring people together in peace.