Ukraine sanctions five linked to Venice

Ukraine just sanctioned five people tied to Russia’s pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, turning an art exhibition that opens to the public on May 9 into another front in the war over who gets to represent Russia abroad. Ukraine says these are not neutral cultural workers but people helping package state propaganda for an elite international audience. (mincult.gov.ua) (labiennale.org) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put the sanctions into force with Decree No. 305/2026 on April 9 after a decision by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council the same day. Ukraine’s Culture Ministry said the move was initiated by the ministry itself and covers five people involved in Russia’s pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale. (mincult.gov.ua) (en.interfax.com.ua) The five names are commissioner Anastasia Karneeva, Kremlin cultural envoy and former Russian culture minister Mikhail Shvydkoy, violinist Valeria Oleynik, singer Ilya Tatakov, and vocalist Artem Nikolaev. The sanctions include asset blocking, a ban on entry into Ukraine, restrictions on economic activity, and an end to official cultural exchanges. (kyivindependent.com) (en.interfax.com.ua) Ukraine’s case against Karneeva is about who she is connected to, not just the job title on the pavilion door. Ukrainian outlets say she has led the Russian pavilion since 2021, is the daughter of Rostec deputy chief Nikolai Volobuyev, and cofounded Smart Art with the daughter of Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. (pravda.com.ua) (kyivindependent.com) Ukraine says Shvydkoy was the official who pushed Russia’s return to Venice after two missed editions in 2022 and 2024. Russia’s pavilion this year is titled “The Tree Is Rooted in the Sky,” and Ukraine’s Culture Ministry says the return involves more than 50 participants in a musical performance rather than a conventional visual-art show. (mincult.gov.ua) (pravda.com.ua) The argument here is over what a national pavilion actually does. Venice gives countries their own branded spaces inside one of the world’s most prestigious art events, so appearing there can work like a soft-power showroom, closer to a diplomatic embassy than a normal gallery booth. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) That is why Ukraine has treated Russia’s return as a political problem from the start. On March 4, the Biennale published its list of participating countries with Russia included, and by March 10 the European Commission was warning that European Union funding for the Biennale could be suspended if Russia’s pavilion went ahead. (pravda.com.ua 1) (pravda.com.ua 2) A group of 22 European countries also backed calls to reconsider Russia’s participation. Latvia’s culture ministry joined that push, and Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro later said the pavilion could be closed if it turned into propaganda. (mincult.gov.ua) (pravda.com.ua) The Biennale has taken the opposite line. Organizers said no sanctions were violated, said they had shown documents to Italy’s Culture Ministry, and argued that the exhibition should remain a place of dialogue, openness, and artistic freedom even during war. (pravda.com.ua) (artnews.com) Ukraine’s sanctions narrow the fight from “should Russia be there at all” to “who exactly is carrying the Russian state’s message into the room.” Ukraine’s government says Oleynik visited occupied Crimea after 2014, Tatakov worked on a propaganda film in occupied Donetsk region, and Nikolaev took part in propaganda events in Crimea in 2025. (artnews.com) (en.interfax.com.ua) The practical question now is whether other governments copy Ukraine’s move before the Biennale preview days on May 6, 7, and 8. Kyiv has already said it will send partners the information needed to synchronize sanctions in their own jurisdictions, which means this could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders before the pavilion even opens. (en.interfax.com.ua) (labiennale.org)