Copyright © 2021 Euromaidanpress.com

The work of Euromaidan Press is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation

When referencing our materials, please include an active hyperlink to the Euromaidan Press material and a maximum 500-character extract of the story. To reprint anything longer, written permission must be acquired from [email protected].

Privacy and Cookie Policies.

Hosting concert of Putin-supporting musicians in college in Boston “undignified,” alumni says

Protests against Putin-supporting musicians have been ongoing for three years already. Photo: Chiu Ng

On 2 June 2017, Russian artists, violinist-conductor Vladimir Spivakov and soprano Hibla Gerzmava, will perform at Boston’s Cutler Majestic Theater, which belongs to the renown communications and performing arts institution Emerson College. Like the performances of many other Russian artists worldwide over the last three years, the news of their appearance in Boston was received with protests. Spivakov and Gerzmanova, along with 511 other Russian cultural figures, signed a letter announcing their direct “support for the position of President of the Russian Federation regarding Ukraine and Crimea.” Dated 11 March 2014, days before Russia occupied and illegally annexed Crimea with the help of a sham referendum, it gave, and continues to give, Russian aggression in Ukraine an air of moral legitimacy. Among other famous signatories who regularly appear in the West are world-known musicians conductor Valery Gergiev, pianist Denis Matsuev, violinist Vladimir Spivakov, and saxophonist Igor Butman.

A notable protest against Spivakov’s performance took place at Harvard University in 2014, when an activist and alumni of the University disrupted the concert from the stage.

The protest group Arts against Aggression will meet concertgoers to Spivakov’s and Gerzmanova’s performance, who they call “War Boosters,” with reminders of Russia’s participation in the war in eastern Ukraine, which has killed over 10,000 and displaced 1.63 million people to date.

Among those protesting against this performance is an Emerson alumna Margarita Davydova, a citizen of Ukraine, who happened to be a former resident of the annexed Crimea and knows from her own experience what it is like to lose her home, business, and be separated from her own family. She graduated from Emerson in 2003 with a degree in Speech and Marketing Communications and is currently living in Kyiv. Her husband has gone to defend his motherland in the summer of 2014 and is now the veteran of this undeclared war of Russia against Ukraine.

Margarita has also worked at the charity fund “Save Ukraine,” helping the displaced people from Donbas and those who remained in the war zone in Eastern Ukraine.

As the group’s leader Dmitry Smelansky told Euromaidan Press, “very much disturbed by the undignified act of her alma mater and its indifference towards injustice, political crimes, and pain of millions of people, Margarita has written an open letter to the president, faculty and the whole community of Emerson College.”

We publish the letter in full.

emersonDear Mr. Pelton, As a proud Emerson alumna, a citizen of Ukraine and a former resident of the annexed Crimea, I am writing this letter to the President and Faculty of Emerson College, the whole Emerson community and the management of the Cutler Majestic Theater in regards to the upcoming performance of Vladimir Spivakov and Hibla Gerzmava on the stage of the Majestic Theater.

Emerson College has given me much more than just great education. It has also played a major role in shaping me as an individual, which I will always be deeply grateful for. Among the important things I have learned at the Emerson family are the core values and principles of a Person. Emerson College Mission Statement includes the liberal arts values that “seek to promote civic engagement, encourage ethical practices, foster respect for human diversity and inspire students to create and communicate with clarity, integrity and conviction.”

In February of 2014, armed and masked Russian troops took over the parliament of Crimea and, eventually, the entire peninsula. In March, the Russian army forces and the local terrorist organizations made an attempt to do the same in the Donbas region of Ukraine, which led to the war. Over the course of this war, continued by Russia until today, thousands and thousands of the Ukrainian people – civil, military, volunteers, medical personnel, men, women, children – have died, thousands have been wounded and held in captivity, whole towns and villages have been destroyed, over 1.5 million citizens of Ukraine have been displaced. I personally have been unable to see my family members and visit my abandoned house in Sevastopol for over 3 years, because my husband had to go to the war zone to defend his motherland, and because I communicate my views on Russia’s crimes openly with clarity and conviction, as I was taught at Emerson. I can simply be arrested and imprisoned for that on the territory of Crimea.

The whole civilized world condemned the crimes of Russia’s president and its government. Yet, there was a number of Russia’s leading artists, who signed an open letter, hailing Vladimir Putin’s actions. Vladimir Spivakov and Hibla Gerzmava were among those, who also supported this crime against humanity. Thus, in relation to Emerson’s liberal arts values, I can say that with their acts and “firm” declaration of “support for the position of Russia’s president on Ukraine and Crimea,” Mr. Spivakov and Mrs. Gerzmava encourage utterly unethical practices and support the system that not only doesn’t have respect for human diversity but never had respect for humans and their basic rights.

Moreover, they support the violation of international conventions, the unlawful annexation of another country’s territories, and the war itself. Politics do not exist without us. When people make art, they cannot make it without thinking about the world around, about the children, about the future.

Art is not an isolated part of culture. It assimilates the values of morality, religion, science, politics and law, and then projects them on the public consciousness, transforming them into art forms.

Politics serve the interests of certain groups of people and prevent the unity of humanity. Politics are always connected to a specific group’s egoism, while the real art is usually politically selfless and is driven by love towards humanity in general. Unfortunately, due to their huge power over the masses, people of art empowered with talent often become a tool of political manipulations, and it is about their moral choice to allow that or not. One of Emerson’s listed values is moral courage. Wikipedia defines it as “the courage to take action for moral reasons despite the risk of adverse consequences.”

I deeply hope that my Alma mater will preserve its values and dignified reputation.

Sincerely, Margarita Davydova (Class of 2003)

[hr]

Related:

You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.  We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society. A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support. Become a Patron!
Total
0
Shares
Related Posts

January 16th: Donetsk Airport is site of ferocious fighting

January 16 – 6 Ukrainian military were killed and 18 wounded in the ATO area in the last 24 hours, – informed NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

January 16 – Ukrainian Parliament will attempt to abolish parliamentary and judicial immunity today, – said the Speaker Volodymyr Groysman.

January 16 – Ukraine has recovered UAH 3.7 billion (cash) from the vaults of the National Bank of Ukraine, earlier seized from the annexed Crimea – President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

January 16 – Global markets expect that Ukraine might default, but the government can still avoid such a scenario, – stated American financier and philanthropist George Soros during a meeting with reporters in Kyiv. The West – both the EU and the US – do not fully understand how significant the possibility of a default really is – emphasized the financier.

January 16 – Former members of Ukrainian parliament Mykola Levchenko and Vadim Kolesnichenko (Party of Regions) were declared wanted on the charges of calls for separatism and breakup of Ukraine.

January 16 – An attack on Donetsk airport begat at 8 am. The fighting continued throughout the day; the militants used tear-gas. The situation is fairly complicated, but overall under control. Ukrainian military are well supported by protective fire. If it weren't for protective fire, the terrorists would have gained an upper hand long ago. Those who are currently defending the site of Donetsk airport are able to carry out their duty as a result of such powerful protective fire. Airport is a site of most fierce opposition. According to journalist Andriy Tsaplienko, Ukrainian military blew up Russian mercenaries (Chechens and also Kadyrov supporters) who made their way into the basement of the airport a few days ago.

January 16 -Russian terrorist fighters in the ATO zone are continuing to assemble heavy army supplies – RNBO spokesperson Andriy Lysenko: "During the last few days we are observing the assemblance of for fighters close to the demarcation of the border. Especially in the city there is a whole row of tanks that have stretched out over approximately 3 kilometers and moved in the direction of the positions of the Ukrainian sub-units," reported Lysenko.

January 16 – U.S. Ambassadaor Jeffrey Payett stated that the attacks of the fighters on the Donetsk Airport is a violation of the Minsk agreement.

January 16 – In the city of Kurakhiv in the Donetsk region, Security Forces detained a fighter of the diverse group, the so-called " DNR". Among the many crimes committed by the terrorist whose surname is "Tserber", is the murder of two peaceful citizens. The so-called "intelligence gatherers" actively terrified local residents, treathening them with physical harm. From words, they moved on to action, killed two two peaceful citizens – a man and a woman, and took over their automobile. While escaping the scene of the crime, the terrorists wounded a member of the street police of Ukraine.

January 16 – Turkey is interested that Ukraine remains the transitioner of the Russian gas to the European Union. This was stated in Brussells by the Prime miister of Turkey, Akhmet Davutohlu in commenting on Russian plans to transport the gas through the territory of Turkey into Europe. In 2014, the transporting of Russian gas through Ukraine's territory, compared to the previous year, decreased by 28%. Davutohlu also noted that Turkey has good relations and a high level of cooperation with Ukraine as welll aswith Russia. However, the relations with Kyiv are solely based on the principles of the territorial integrity of the country.

The director of NAK "Gas of Ukraine" Andriy Koboliev called the statement of Hazprom regarding the "Turkish Stream" a political bluff. Statements by Hazprom that the company is ready to curtail the relationship which has existed for many years with the EU, lack any economic sense at all and are a political bluff," stated Koboliev. The enterprise stated that Naftogaz is adhering to all agreements made in Brussells which are geared towards preserving the stability of the delivery of Russian gas to the countries of EU.

Interview with Myroslava Gongadze, Ukrainian journalist

One marine's story about the fall of Crimea

NATO sends rapid-reaction forces to Russia's neighbors

P.S.: Please spread this appeal as much as possible.