“It is impossible to return to normal life with a murderer and a terrorist. Russia continues a full-scale war against Ukraine, a sovereign state, shelling and bombing cities almost daily and every night, killing, destroying and terrorizing civilians,” Budrys wrote. “The Venice Biennale’s decision to roll out the red carpet for Russia’s dark cultural diplomacy is disgusting.”
There can be no return to business as usual with a murderer and a terrorist.⁰
Russia continues its large‑scale war against #Ukrainea sovereign state – almost every day and night it shells and bombs 🇺🇦 cities, kills, destroys, and terrorizes civilian lives.
The decision by… pic.twitter.com/49FWxYLdtY
— Kęstutis Budrys (@BudrysKestutis) March 5, 2026
Why did the organizers allow the participation of Russians?
On March 2, the representative of the Russian Federation for international cultural exchanges and former Minister of Culture Mikhail Shvydkoy confirmed to the publication ArtNews that a Russian pavilion will be opened at the exhibition.
He stated that the Russian Federation “never left the Venice Biennale,” but “was simply looking for new forms of creative activity in the current circumstances.” According to Shvydkoy, the presence of the aggressor country at the biennale confirms that Russian culture was not isolated from the world cultural space.
The organizers said in a comment to the publication that they reject any form of discrimination or censorship, so the exhibition is “a place of dialogue, openness and creative freedom, encouraging connections between peoples and cultures, with the constant hope of ending conflict and suffering.”
On March 4, the organizers published the lists of participants, including turned out to be an aggressor country Russia.
What is the official position of the Italian government
Context
The Venice Biennale takes place every two years in Venice (Italy). Ukraine has been participating in the Venice Biennale since 2001.
The 61st Venice Biennale starts on May 9 and runs until November 22. Ukraine will present the “Security Guarantees” project. The curators of the pavilion are art historian, curator and program director of Promprylad Art Center Ksenia Malykh and historian, researcher of Ukrainian cultural heritage Leonid Marushchak.
The Russian pavilion will be called The Tree Is Rooted In the Sky, and its curator will be Anastasia Karneeva. Russia has taken part in the art forum since 1914, but due to the full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, Russians were no longer allowed to participate in the event.
