European Commission threatens to strip Venice Biennale of $2.3 million grant unless it drops the Russian pavilion

In a letter of 10 April addressed to the Biennale's president, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, the European Commission accused the organisers of breaching sanctions against Russia. The substance of the complaint: the Biennale has admitted Russian artists as a "governmental delegation", wholly financed by Moscow, and has given it a cultural platform in exchange for indirect state support.

Russia is returning to the Biennale for the first time since 2022. Mikhail Shvydkoy, the President's Special Representative for International Cultural Cooperation, declared that Russia "had never gone anywhere", since its pavilion had stayed physically in place all that time.

In response to the complaint, the Biennale stated that it "rejects any form of exclusion or censorship of culture and art".

The organisers must reply to the European Commission by 11 May. The grant was intended to fund the 2028 edition. Meanwhile, 73 artists and curators taking part in the Biennale have signed an open letter demanding that Russia, Israel and the United States be barred from participation

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free. So, here is the

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European Commission threatens to strip Venice Biennale of $2.3 million grant unless it drops the Russian pavilion

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

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