“Bacio di Cupido” di Canova

In the name of art and universal culture, embarrassing and sad developments continue between the Western world and Russia, divided in two by the Ukrainian crisis. Russia has responded to excommunication decisions concerning universal culture, art and science, such as removing Tchaikovsky from the repertoires of the Western world, excommunicating writers like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, directors like Tarkovsky, Russian artists, and rejecting articles written by Russian scientists. And he reacted: “If you are excommunicating our culture, art and artists, return the works of art we have borrowed to be exhibited in your country”. In the message conveyed in writing by Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, “The Hermitage is a state museum under the Ministry of Culture. The works loaned by Russia must be returned. Please return them to us by the end of March”.