Members of the Platform of Russian Democratic Forces at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have written an open letter to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni regarding the participation of Russian representatives in the Venice Biennale. The text of the letter was published on Facebook on March 9 by Andrey Volna—a platform member, physician, and volunteer.
The letter's authors "expressed serious concern over the fact that representatives of Putin’s Russia have been included in the official program of the Venice Biennale."
"The inclusion of an aggressor state in the Biennale’s program sets a dangerous precedent that plays into the hands of Russian state propaganda," the platform representatives asserted.
They urged Meloni to demand the exclusion of all official Russian representatives from the Biennale program "until all aggression against Ukraine ceases, until its lawful territory is restored, and until reparations are paid for the damage caused by the war."
- The 2026 Venice Biennale is scheduled to take place from May 9 to November 22. Russia plans to present a series of sound performances at the Biennale under the collective title "The Tree Is Rooted in the Sky," according to Mikhail Shvydkoy, the Russian President's Special Representative for International Cultural Cooperation.
- Russia has not participated in the Biennale since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops in 2022; during this period, it did not utilize its pavilion in Venice, but instead leased it out.