Russian director Alexander Sokurov withdraws from Venice Biennale after activists’ open letter calls his participation a staged performance
Alexander Sokurov’s appearance at the Venice Biennale did not take place. The Russian director had been invited to a conference called “Dissent and Peace,” but, as the biennale’s press office announced, he was unable to participate due to “sudden unavailability.” On the eve of the biennale, Russian and Italian cultural figures and activists addressed an open letter to the exhibition’s leadership. They called the closed-door “Dissent and Peace” discussion series — to which Sokurov had been invited — an “imitation,” and spoke out against the director’s participation in those meetings. The letter to the biennale’s president and the cancellation of Sokurov’s appearance sparked widespread debate. Here is how the letter’s authors, opposition figures, Russian state propaganda, and Sokurov himself have responded to the situation.
The text was posted on Facebook on May 2 by one of the letter’s signatories, gallerist Marat Gelman
Dear President Buttafuoco,
We are writing to you again in connection with the Biennale’s announcement of a series of three closed, invitation-only meetings at Ca’Giustinian during the pre-opening days of the 61st Venice Biennale, under the title “Il dissenso e la pace” — “Dissent and Peace.”
At a moment when the attempt to reopen the Russian Pavilion is meeting resistance from both the international community and Russian artists and dissidents themselves, when the Culture Ministry is sending an inspection, the EU is withdrawing funding, and the International Jury is ostentatiously resigning, the Biennale — which so insistently proclaims its commitment to dialogue — has no right to replace that dialogue with an imitation of it.
What is being proposed today looks like a staged performance: dissent admitted by invitation list, pre-selected and safe, discussed behind closed doors in a cocktail-reception format for invited VIPs — while the voices of those for whom dissent is a matter of life and freedom are simply ignored.
Nearly half a century after the Biennale of Dissidents in 1977, the return of dissent in the form of a managed spectacle — with convenient voices, polite discussions, and cocktails at Ca’Giustinian, featuring those who are increasingly and with good reason called “pocket” dissidents — is no longer even irony or substitution, but parody.
The choice of Alexander Sokurov as the symbolic voice of “dissent” for the first of these private meetings only sharpens the problem.
This is not a question of personality, but of principle: can dissent and disagreement be represented by those who circulate without risk between power and international recognition, while others end up in prison, in exile, or die for the very same thing?
This is not a matter of taste. It is a matter of truth. Tolerated criticism is not dissent.
And this distinction is, at this moment, entirely concrete.
In Russia, artists are being persecuted and imprisoned. Dissidents in Europe face threats and transnational repression. Investigations document systematic campaigns of pressure, persecution, and violence against opponents of the regime. In this context, to aestheticize dissent is to devalue it.
If Il dissenso e la pace claims to be serious, it must include those for whom dissent is not a position but their only life and fate:
- representatives of imprisoned anti-war artists and political prisoners
- persecuted feminist and queer resistance movements
- representatives of peoples living under Russian colonial and imperial oppression
- dissident artists in exile deprived of the ability to return home
And — without exception — Ukrainian artists and cultural workers speaking from the daily reality of Russian aggression, including aggression against culture itself: the destruction of monuments, the theft of museum treasures, the voices of memory for colleagues, Ukrainian cultural figures killed by Russia.
Otherwise, Il dissenso e la pace will be neither a space for dialogue nor a space for conscience — not even formally.
It will be an act of institutional self-preservation, an attempt to cover moral compromise with a veneer of respectability. An empty imitation, devoid of content. A parody.
The price of dissent is already being paid — in prisons, in exile, in graves.
If the Biennale truly lays claim to the legacy of 1977, it must be a space for discussion, not a decorative simulation of one.
You have repeatedly stated that the Biennale is open to all voices. Now you have the opportunity to prove that this is not mere rhetoric.
We demand that this initiative be opened to those who face real persecution for their dissent.
We attach a list of Russian artists imprisoned for their anti-war stance and acts of protest and expressions of dissent, as well as those who have died in custody. These are the voices that must be represented and heard.
Below are the names and faces of artists, writers, musicians, directors, and performers who are today in prisons and labor camps, and those who were killed there:
1. Berezhinskaya Anastasia Alexandrovna, born October 8, 1981, a Russian citizen and Moscow resident, theater director and actress. Sentenced to eight years in prison. Imprisoned since November 14, 2024.
2. Berkovich Evgenia Borisovna, born April 29, 1985, lived in Moscow, theater director, poet, and writer. Winner of the Golden Mask award. Sentenced to five years and seven months in prison. Imprisoned since May 4, 2023.
3. Bryukhanov Sergei Georgievich, born June 4, 1971, a Russian citizen and resident of Irkutsk, artist and sculptor. Sentenced to 19 years, with the first four years to be served in prison and the remainder in a strict-regime prison. Imprisoned approximately since August 10–11, 2023.
4. Dayneko Nikolai Dmitrievich, born June 2, 1996, a Moscow resident, poet, participant in the Mayakovsky Readings, civic activist, and rock musician. Sentenced to four years in prison. Imprisoned since September 25, 2022.
5. Dyudyaeva Anastasia Gennadyevna, born January 29, 1977, a decorative artist. Sentenced to three years and six months in a settlement colony. Imprisoned since January 24, 2024.
6. Ziza Bogdan Sergeyevich, born November 23, 1994, a resident of the Crimean city of Yevpatoria, graffiti artist, citizen of Ukraine and Russia. Sentenced to 15 years in prison, with the first four years to be served in prison. Imprisoned since May 16, 2022.
7. Ishmurzin Aigiz Shagitovich, born February 5, 2001, a resident of Ufa, Russian citizen, singer, and performer of songs in Russian and Bashkir. Sentenced to five years in prison. Imprisoned since February 15, 2024.
8. Kamardin Artyom Yuryevich, born October 10, 1990, a Moscow resident, poet, participant in the Mayakovsky Readings, and civic activist. Sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 500,000 rubles. In custody since September 26, 2022.
9. Klyuka Daniil Vladimirovich, born September 24, 1996. Artist and drawing teacher. Sentenced to 20 years in prison, with the first five years to be served in prison. Imprisoned since February 10, 2023.
10. Korolyov Vsevolod Anatolyevich, born July 24, 1987, a St. Petersburg resident, documentary filmmaker, poet, and director. Sentenced to seven years in prison. Has serious chronic illnesses. Imprisoned since July 12, 2022.
11. Krinari Daniil Dmitrievich, born May 15, 1988, a St. Petersburg resident, designer and artist. Sentenced to five years in prison.
12. Ladchenko Ivan Vladlenovich, born October 6, 1998, a St. Petersburg resident and musician. Sentenced to 11 years in prison, with the first three years to be served in prison. Imprisoned since October 16, 2023.
13. Laletina Tatyana Valeryevna, born February 19, 2003, a Russian citizen and artist. Sentenced to nine years in prison. Imprisoned since February 26, 2024.
14. Ostanin Artemiy Romanovich, born March 18, 1996, a Russian citizen and Moscow resident, stand-up comedian. Sentenced to five years and nine months in prison and fined. Imprisoned since March 18, 2025.
15. Petriychuk Svetlana Alexandrovna, born April 22, 1980, lived in Moscow, playwright, screenwriter, theater director, and writer. Winner of the Golden Mask award. Sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison. Imprisoned since May 4, 2023.
16. Razumova Lyudmila Alexandrovna, born February 26, 1967. Artist. Sentenced to seven years in prison. A second case has been opened against her in the colony; the investigation is ongoing.
17. Rouse Richard Richardovich, born July 28, 1985, a resident of Kirov. Bus driver, photographer, sound engineer, organist and harpsichordist (Moscow State Conservatory named after P.I. Tchaikovsky), and amateur theater director. Sentenced to eight years in prison.
18. Skvortsov Grigory Alexandrovich, born December 29, 1989, a Russian citizen and resident of Perm with a higher education degree, photographer, founder of the photo agency Ad hoc, winner of an industrial photography competition, and founder and frontman of the band Jagath. Sentenced to 16 years in prison with one year of restricted freedom after release. Imprisoned since November 29, 2023.
19. Cheldieyev Vadim Kazbekovich, born December 4, 1981, opera singer, soloist of the Mariinsky Theater, and Honored Artist of North Ossetia. Sentenced to 10 years in prison. In custody since April 17, 2020.
20. Shabanov Andrei Alexandrovich, born October 5, 1980, a Russian citizen, saxophonist, and person with a Group II disability. Sentenced to six years in prison. Imprisoned since March 21, 2024.
21. Sharlot Eduard Valeryevich, born February 7, 1998. Musician and actor. Sentenced to five years and six months in prison. Imprisoned since November 22, 2023.
22. Shtovba Yegor Olegovich, born December 26, 2000, a Moscow resident, poet, and participant in the Mayakovsky Readings. Sentenced to five years and six months in prison. In custody since September 25, 2022.
23. Arbuzenko Alexei Valeriyevich, born November 25, 1976, writer and musician. Sentenced to six years in prison.
24. Aydin Deniz Alattinovich, born July 21, 1999, a Russian citizen and musician. Arrested; investigation is ongoing; faces up to 20 years in prison.
25. Volodin Davyd Arkadyevich, born September 2, 1993, a Russian citizen. Graduate of an art lyceum and a medical college, former scholarship recipient of the Elena Roerich Charitable Foundation. Sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison. Imprisoned no later than November 17, 2025.
26. Gashimova Ulkyar Asemovna, born August 23, 1999, a resident of the city of Derbent in the Republic of Dagestan. Studied at a music college in the choral conducting department but was expelled for speaking out against the war with Ukraine in 2022. Sentenced to four years and six months in prison. Imprisoned since May 2, 2023.
Killed:
1. Akuzin Andrei Viktorovich. Age 53. Lived in Khabarovsk, an artist. Was detained on April 2, 2026. Died by suicide in a pretrial detention center on April 8, 2026, the day after his birthday.
2. Berezikov Anatoly Alexandrovich. Age 39. An opposition activist and musician from Rostov-on-Don. Was detained on May 11, 2023, for posting anti-war leaflets. According to his defense, he was tortured to extract a confession. His death in the detention facility emerged on June 14, 2023. Whether his death was a suicide, the result of torture, or an extrajudicial killing remains unknown.
3. Dotsenko Alexander Leonidovich. Age 65. Born in Ukraine, a Russian citizen, jewelry artist, sentenced to three years in a settlement colony. Died in custody after a heart attack on February 19, 2026.
4. Kushnir Pavel Mikhailovich. Age 39. Lived in Tambov, a pianist, writer, and activist. Had been in custody since May 2024. Died in a pretrial detention center in Birobidzhan on July 27, 2024, as a result of a hunger strike, according to the official account.
5. Vadim Vladimirovich Stroykin. Age 59. Lived in St. Petersburg, a musician and poet. Fell from the window of an apartment on February 6, 2025, during investigative proceedings and a search. Died at the scene. The official account is suicide.
These are the voices the Biennale must honor, protect, and make visible. These artists know the true meaning of the words “dissent” and “peace” alongside the word “Russia” — because they pay the full price for that proximity.
Sincerely,
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova — artist, founder of Pussy Riot, former political prisoner, USA
Sasha Skochilenko — artist, musician, former political prisoner, Germany
Pavel Talankin — documentary filmmaker, Oscar laureate, Prague (Czech Republic)
Danila Tkachenko — artist, curator, dissident, Italy
Anton Litvin — artist, participant in the 2005 Venice Biennale, Prague (Czech Republic)
Katya Margolis — artist, author, activist, Venice (Italy)
Elena Kostyukovich — translator, writer, Milan (Italy)
Igor Boni — president of Europa Radicale
Giulia De Florio — University of Parma, president of Memorial Italia, Italy
Anna Zafesova — journalist, columnist for La Stampa, Milan (Italy)
Giorgio Alfaras — economist, Centro Einaudi, Milan (Italy)
Lorenzo Strik Lievers — former senator and member of the Italian Republic
Nicola Bertollio — artist, activist, Milan (Italy)
Chiara Squarcione — board member of Europa Radicale, Italy
Nadezhda Skochilenko — human rights activist, France
Marco Taradash — journalist, Italy
Dr. Carmen Claudin — senior non-resident fellow, CIDOB (Barcelona), Spain
Marat Gelman — gallerist, dissident
Sergei Morozov — journalist, dissident
Mariam Pesvianidze — film director, multidisciplinary artist
Prof. Andrea Gullotta — University of Palermo, vice president of Memorial Italia, Italy
Alessandro Achilli — Slavicist, University of Cagliari, Italy
Simone A. Bellezza — University of Piemonte Orientale, Memorial Italia, Italy
Alessandro Aires — associate professor of Slavic studies, Italy
Prof. Laura Rossi — University of Milan, Italy
Claudia Zongetti — literary translator, Italy
Alessandra Carbone — University of Siena, Italy
Marco Setaccoli — journalist
Augusto Fonseca — translator, Italy
Simone Guannelli — University of Bari, Memorial Italia, Italy
Niccolo Piancola — University of Padua, Italy
Viviana Nosilia — University of Padua, Italy
Massimiliano Mellei — journalist
Enzo Cucco — Fondazione Sandro Penna-FUORI!
Massimo Tria — professor of Russian literature, film critic
Elena Freda Piredda — Russian language instructor, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Milan), Italy
Carmelo Palma — journalist, Italy
Anatoly Osmolovsky — artist
Andrei Orlov (Orlusha) — poet
Sokurov called the claim of his ‘sudden unavailability’ nonsense and expressed sympathy for the letter’s authors
Alexander Sokurov told the independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo that he had been unable to fly to Venice “for reasons beyond his control.” He told the Telegram channel Podiem that he had been ready to travel and had already written the text of his remarks, calling the explanation about “sudden unavailability” nonsense. “The reason is simple — there were a number of organizational issues that weren’t resolved in time,” he said.
Asked about the letter written against him, the director told the Telegram channel Rotonda that he was “full of sympathy” for its authors. “I wish them the chance to find a way to temper their bitterness,” he said. “Whatever they may think, whatever full stops they place in their own fates — Russia will forever remain, if not a Fatherland, then a Motherland. For them and for me,” the channel quoted Sokurov as saying.
Among those who signed the letter against Sokurov is artist Sasha Skochilenko. The director had supported her during her trial on charges of spreading military ‘fakes’
The open letter to Venice Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco described the “Dissent and Peace” discussion — to which Sokurov had been invited — as a staged performance: dissent admitted by invitation list, pre-selected and safe, discussed behind closed doors in a cocktail-reception format for invited VIPs, while the voices of those for whom dissent was a matter of life and freedom were simply ignored.
Sokurov’s invitation sharpened the problem, the authors argued. They asked whether dissent and disagreement could be represented by those who circulated without risk between power and international recognition, while others ended up in prison, in exile, or died for the very same thing.
Among the signatories are Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Oscar laureate Pavel Talankin, artist and activist Katya Margolis, translator Elena Kostyukovich, and gallerist Marat Gelman.
Artist Sasha Skochilenko also signed — the same artist Sokurov had publicly supported during her 2023 trial. The director attended hearings in St. Petersburg and was present when the verdict was handed down: Skochilenko was sentenced to seven years in prison for anti-war leaflets she had placed in place of price tags at a supermarket. She was released in the summer of 2024 as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries. Sokurov publicly criticized the case against Skochilenko, calling it “a humiliation of the judicial process” and the verdict itself “monstrous.”
Skochilenko has not yet commented on the open letter. In a post about the torture of political prisoner Azat Miftakhov that she published on Facebook on May 9, Skochilenko wrote: “I know that’s not what you’re waiting for from me, so I’m inviting you to write in the comments to this post everything you think about me, if anything has built up.” She added that if the post received more than 200 comments, she would share her thoughts on the situation that interested everyone most. At the time of publication, the post had just over 50 comments.
Gallerist Marat Gelman, another signatory, said in an appearance on Alexander Plushchev and Olga Romanova’s YouTube channel The Breakfast Show that he did not consider the letter anti-Sokurov. In his telling, it was directed only against Sokurov’s participation in a specific conference on dissent: in a sharp discussion, Sokurov would have had to tell the truth — and then he simply would have been welcomed back in Moscow — or he would have had to stay silent, and then there would have been no discussion. For a biennale discussion, Gelman said, “you need people who are outside the Kremlin’s jurisdiction.”
Gelman also said he regretted the phrase “circulates without risk between power and international recognition,” which could be read as accusing Sokurov of collaborating with the Putin regime. The letter’s authors “made a big mistake, but that doesn’t change the substance,” he said. “I quickly skimmed the letter, signed it, and then it blew up in my face,” he added.
Russian opposition politicians came to Sokurov’s defense, while director Alexei German publicly clashed with Zinaida Pronchenko over his support for Sokurov
Politician Andrei Pivovarov argued that attacking Sokurov specifically was categorically wrong. The director had consistently criticized the authorities, supported the persecuted, and said things that many others lacked either the standing or the courage to say, Pivovarov said. He emphasized that he categorically disagreed with any attempt to link Sokurov to the Russian authorities.
Politician Yulia Galyamina called the letter against Sokurov shameful and wrote that “Alexander Nikolaevich himself is far greater and above all these ‘contemporaries.’” Politician Dmitry Gudkov argued that Sokurov’s political position “we have all long understood,” and that at the biennale the director could have been “the only ray of light from Russia.”
Director Alexei German Jr. also expressed surprise in a Facebook post at the campaign against Sokurov. “He is one of the greatest Russian artists. And he is very old. And he is ill. How can you hound him?” German wrote. He also expressed outrage that Sokurov had not been defended by “critics whose names start with P, D, and other letters of the alphabet.” In a subsequent post, German clarified that he had, among others, meant film critic Zinaida Pronchenko. In her Telegram channel, she called German “a mediocre Russian director” and said that “Sokurov’s films are eternal, and he doesn’t need roundtables. But his dialogues with the authorities are also delirium.”
Russian state propaganda also weighed in. The incident was characterized on air on the state-run channel Rossiya-24 as follows: “Russophobes decided to cancel a man who had sympathized with them in every way.” Host Evgenia Petrukhina said the director had “supported foreign agents, and in return they spat in his soul.”
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