MOSCOW, Jan 3 Lithuanian Minister of Culture Simonas Kairis and a number public figures of the country spoke in favor of a «mental quarantine» for Russian culture and its temporary suspension for the duration of the conflict in Ukraine.
«I like the term «mental quarantine» to give up the artifacts of Russian culture for a while,» Kairis said on the air of the LRT Forum program, commenting on the call of the Minister of Culture of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko to Western countries to temporarily stop the demonstration works of Russian culture in public space.
«I ask myself, is it sensible to show Russian films in the current context? I don't think so. I'm not saying that the boycott is a panacea for all evil, the boycott should be reasonable,» Grazhyna Arlitskaite, head of the Scanorama film festival, said on the air of the program .
As an example, she recalled that «with the change in American society,» online platforms stopped showing the classic film «Gone with the Wind,» explaining the decision as «racial prejudice.»
Head of the music association Audrone Žigaitė-Nekrosienė stated that she «quarreled with Russian culture during the events of January 13» in 1991 (the clashes between Lithuanian independence supporters and USSR servicemen in Vilnius). «No one is suggesting to destroy… But Anna Akhmatova could suffer,» she said.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin called those who «cancel» Russian culture fools, and stressed that those who act in this way deprive themselves of part of world culture.