The international movement Arts Against Aggression has appealed to the Palm Beach Symphony and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida, to cancel a March 2 performance by Russian violinist Vadim Repin, who has been linked to Kremlin cultural propaganda.
This was report by Arts Against Aggression in an open letter.
“We were deeply shocked and disappointed to learn that violinist Vadim Repin, closely associated with Putin, was invited to perform at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the Bucha massacre,” the appeal reads.
The Vadim Repin concert is reportedly scheduled at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Palm Beach Symphony program. The event is dedicated to the world premiere of Lullaby by composer Paul Moravec.
“Repin was publicly presented as one of the key figures of Russia’s “soft power”, implemented under the direct patronage of the President of the Russian Federation,” the statement notes.
Arts Against Aggression recalls that on April 1, 2022, after the revelation of the crimes in Bucha, Putin awarded Repin the title of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, and in 2024-2025 the musician repeatedly participated in official Kremlin events, including concerts for the Russian military and broadcasts to the temporarily occupied Crimea.
It is also specified that the performances of Repin and his wife, ballerina Svetlana Zakharova, were canceled in Italy, in particular at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and also in Germany – at the Mannheim Philharmonic – after appeals from the Ukrainian side.
“Unlike his wife, ballerina Svetlana Zakharova, a Putin protégé, Vadim Repin is not a member of the ruling United Russia party, does not hold public office, and refrains from making public political statements. At the same time, Repin, a Belgian citizen living in Italy and Switzerland, is actively involved in Kremlin propaganda initiatives and has received significant financial support from the Putin Propaganda Fund (Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives).
The statement also emphasizes the financial aspect: since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Vadim Repin Arts Development Fund has received more than 100 million rubles from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives of the Russian Federation.
“Arts Against Aggression strongly urges the Palm Beach Symphony to follow the example of the Teatro del Maggio and the Mannheim Philharmonic and cancel the performance of violinist Vadim Repin at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, scheduled for the fourth anniversary of the Bucha massacre... We hope that the Palm Beach Symphony and Kravis Center will reconsider its decision to host a person who acts as a cultural shield for Russia, covering up the daily war crimes of the Putin regime,” the statement concludes.
Background
Arts Against Aggression (also known as Music Lovers Against Putin’s Aggression) is a public initiative founded in Boston in March 2014 in response to an invitation by Russian musicians Vladimir Spivakov and Denis Matsuev to perform at Harvard University. These concerts were planned shortly after both musicians, along with a group of Russian cultural figures, signed an open letter in support of the annexation of Crimea and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Initially, the group brought together university professors, scientists, artists, and IT professionals who shared a love of classical music and were shocked by the fact that world-renowned musicians publicly supported Russia’s aggressive policies. Since 2014, the international movement Arts Against Aggression has been actively opposing Russian cultural propaganda in the US and Europe. In cooperation with other American organizations and activists, the community managed to ban a number of performances by Putin propaganda artists in the US after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Photo: VM collage
Author: Inna Mikhno