Protests against the Mariinsky Theatre’s Valery Gergiev display no signs of stopping anything soon. Demonstrators in Ann Arbor, Michigan, carried signs and laid on pavement outside the Hill Auditorium Saturday to protest the director's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The demonstration took place outside the Mariinsky Orchestra’s performance Saturday night, Jan. 24. But the protestors's outcry was not only directed at Gergiev’s ties with Putin, which have recently come under attack after the leader’s anti-gay legislation and his support of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, but to draw attention to the Ford Honors Distinguished Artist Award Gergiev was scheduled to receive Sunday, Jan. 25, from the University Musical Society.
UMS President Ken Fischer has said the award and orchestra performance were not meant to make a political statement.
"We hope that our presentation of this orchestra will encourage discussion about the political issues unfolding in Russia and the challenges that artists must sometimes face when working within a difficult political climate," he said in a written statement.
This has been an ongoing issue within the arts sphere. Recently, protesters stood outside the Brooklyn Academy of Music holding signs that read “4,700 killed in Putin’s war against Ukraine” and shouting “Boycott Gergiev.”
Gergiev recently spoke to the New York Times about the task of keeping music and politics separate. When asked about his thoughts on Crimea, he said:
“There was so much Russian blood spilled in Crimea over the last 200 years, so much. I think Russians know the history of Crimea and the history of czarist Russia and the history of the Soviet Union. It is not up to me to give a lecture, but Crimea is a very complex issue, which cannot be described in one word: annexation.”
So far, all the protests have been peaceful, but recent events seem to indicate the protests will continue as Gergiev continue to tour the U.S.
