VLADIMIR Putin has announced his government will tighten controls on art in Russia, claiming officials are trying to avert terrorist attacks such as that on Charlie Hebdo last year.
The Russian president warned the country’s creatives on Friday there is a “fine line” between dangerous expression and free speech – and argued any freedom comes with “responsibility”.
He said: “Any hooliganism, any attempts to thwart a theatre performance or an exhibition are absolutely inadmissible and must be published in all severity of the law.”
But he added: “Any freedom has another side – responsibility.
“There is a very narrow edge between dangerous buffoonery and freedom of expression.”
Mr Putin referred to the attack last January in which twisted ISIS jihadis brutally murdered 12 journalists at the offices of Charlie Hebdo as an example of the dangers of offending religious beliefs.
He said: “A question arises – did these cartoonists need to offend Islamic believers? The artists might not have wanted to offend anyone, but they did.
“We must bear that in mind and not to allow that, not to split the society.”
Russia’s top cultural figures urged Mr Putin at the meeting to protect the freedom of artistic expression.
Yevgeny Mirinov, a prominent actor and artistic director for Moscow’s Theatre of Nations, pleaded with Putin to stop officials and conservative groups from trying to censor the creative arts.
But a steadfast Mr Putin replied that officials who interpret works of arts may take action because they “don’t want what happened in Paris to be repeated here”.
He added: “We shouldn’t forget about it for a second.”
The Russian leader also heard a plea of mercy for Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was imprisoned for 20 years on charges of terror last year.
Alexander Sokurov, who won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2011 for his film ‘Faust’, pleaded with Mr Putin to release Sentsov.
Sokurov said: “He must compete with me at film festivals, not sit in our Arctic prison.
“It’s a shame. It’s sad.”
But Mr Putin, unmoved, insisted the court found Sentsov guilty, and would not be released.
The Russian president warned the country’s creatives on Friday there is a “fine line” between dangerous expression and free speech – and argued any freedom comes with “responsibility”.
He said: “Any hooliganism, any attempts to thwart a theatre performance or an exhibition are absolutely inadmissible and must be published in all severity of the law.”
But he added: “Any freedom has another side – responsibility.
“There is a very narrow edge between dangerous buffoonery and freedom of expression.”
Mr Putin referred to the attack last January in which twisted ISIS jihadis brutally murdered 12 journalists at the offices of Charlie Hebdo as an example of the dangers of offending religious beliefs.
He said: “A question arises – did these cartoonists need to offend Islamic believers? The artists might not have wanted to offend anyone, but they did.
“We must bear that in mind and not to allow that, not to split the society.”
Russia’s top cultural figures urged Mr Putin at the meeting to protect the freedom of artistic expression.
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| Mr Putin said Russian officials may take action if they consider works of art to be controversial. |
Yevgeny Mirinov, a prominent actor and artistic director for Moscow’s Theatre of Nations, pleaded with Putin to stop officials and conservative groups from trying to censor the creative arts.
But a steadfast Mr Putin replied that officials who interpret works of arts may take action because they “don’t want what happened in Paris to be repeated here”.
He added: “We shouldn’t forget about it for a second.”
The Russian leader also heard a plea of mercy for Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was imprisoned for 20 years on charges of terror last year.
Alexander Sokurov, who won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2011 for his film ‘Faust’, pleaded with Mr Putin to release Sentsov.
Sokurov said: “He must compete with me at film festivals, not sit in our Arctic prison.
“It’s a shame. It’s sad.”
But Mr Putin, unmoved, insisted the court found Sentsov guilty, and would not be released.
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