This essay, on why the Ukraine war should not lead us to boycott Russian culture, was my Observer column this week. It was published on 18 June 2023, under the headline “We can revile Putin’s violence in Ukraine, but we’re not at war with Russian culture”. On 4 September 1939, the day after Britain had declared war on Germany, the BBC Proms opened with extracts from Richard Wagner’s works including The Mastersingers of Nuremberg, Götterdämmerung, Tristan and Isolde, Tannhäuser and Die Walküre. Later concerts that year included works […]

Categories: Culture & Books, International • Tags: cultural boycott, culture, elizabeth gilbert, hanif kureishi, herder, russia, russian culture, sensitivity readers, ukraine war, vladimir putin, wagner