Ahead of Venice Biennale, Ukraine sanctions 5 representatives of Russian pavilion

Prefer on Google by Kate Tsurkan Venice, a coastal city in Northeast Italy, on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, Venice, Veneto, February 25, 2026. Facade gothique venetienne ornee de bannieres de La Biennale di Venezia 2026, indiquant les differentes disciplines et periodes du programme culturel, avec les drapeaux europeen, italien et venetien audessus, dans une scene architecturale historique du centre urbain. (Photo by Riccardo Milani / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images) Ukraine has imposed sanctions on five representatives of the Russian pavilion ahead of the Venice Art Biennale, as backlash grows over Russia's return to the event, Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna announced Thursday. "Russia must not return to the international cultural space while the war continues. Ukraine will continue to defend this position on all international platforms," Berezhna wrote . "We continue working to prevent Russia’s participation in the Venice Biennale. Ukraine has imposed sanctions against five representatives of the Russian pavilion." The Russian pavilion was canceled during the Venice Art Biennale in 2022 after the selected artists refused to participate in protest against the full-scale war against Ukraine. Specifically, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Russian pavilion comissioner Anastasia Karneeva,  Russia's delegate for international cultural exchanges and former culture minister Mikhail Shvydkoy, and artists Artem Nikolaev, Ilya Tatakov, and Valeria Oliinyk. Karneeva has major ties to the Russian military industrial complex. She is the daughter of Nikolai Volobuev, the deputy CEO of Rostec, Russia’s largest state-owned defense company. Her business partner at the art consultancy company is Ekaterina Vinokurova, the daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Sanctioned Russian oligarch Leonid Mikhelson also funds the Russian pavilion and Smart Art, according to Berezhna, citing research provided by Molfar Intelligence to the Ukrainian government. Mikhelson's company Novatek supplies gas to the Russian Defense Ministry as well as a number of defense industry-related businesses, and aids in military recruitment efforts. According to Berezhna, Shvydkoy directly initiated Russia's return to the Venice Biennale. He also proclaimed in early March that Russia's imminent return showed that Russian culture was not “isolated” and that the West had “failed to cancel” it. Tatakov, Nikolaev, and Oliinyk are all musicians — even though the Venice Biennale has a separate event for music — who actively support the full-scale war against Ukraine, receive funding from the Russian government, and participate in propaganda events. The sanctions imposed on all five members of the pavilion include asset blocking, a ban on entry into Ukraine, termination of cultural exchanges, and restrictions on economic activity. "I thank the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his leadership, colleagues from the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine for their cooperation, and Molfar Intelligence for their important analytical work," Berezhna wrote. Ukraine is not alone in calling for Russia to be barred from the major international cultural event, which is set to officially begin on May 9. The European Commission, members of the European Parliament, and ministers of culture and foreign affairs from 23 European countries have also urged the Venice Biennale to exclude Russia from this year’s exhibition. The European Commission even threatened in mid-March to pull its funding for the Venice Biennale. "Member States, institutions and organisations must act in line with EU sanctions and avoid giving a platform to ​individuals who have actively supported or justified the Kremlin's aggression against Ukraine," an EU statement said. However, the right-wing journalist Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, who was appointed the head of the Venice Biennale in 2023, has described it as "a space of coexistence for the whole planet" and dismissed the idea of excluding countries from participating as "censorship."