Russia Returns to Venice Biennale

Russia's four-year hiatus began in February 2022, when the artists Kirill Savchenkov and Alexandra Sukhareva, along with Lithuanian curator Raimundas Malašauskas, withdrew from that year's Biennale. They announced their resignation in protest of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, stating, "There is no place for art when civilians are dying under the fire of missiles." The historic Russian pavilion, a fixture in the Giardini since 1914, did not remain empty during its absence. In 2024, Russia lent the space to Bolivia, which hosted a group exhibition of artists from several South American countries. The commissioner for the Russian pavilion is Anastasia Karneeva, who was appointed in 2021 for an eight-year term. Karneeva is the daughter of Nikolai Volobuyev, a retired FSB general and deputy director of the state-owned defense corporation Rostec. The returning exhibition for 2026 is titled "The Tree is Rooted in the Sky" and will feature a series of sound performances. The project involves more than 50 young musicians, poets, and philosophers from Russia and other nations, including Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Mikhail Shvydkoi, Vladimir Putin's special representative for international cultural cooperation, stated that Russia "never left" the Biennale. He described the pavilion's reopening as proof that "attempts to 'cancel' it—undertaken for the past four years by Western political elites—have not succeeded." The return has drawn sharp criticism. Lithuania's Foreign Minister called the decision "abject," and a group of European Parliament members labeled it "unacceptable." The curator of the Ukrainian pavilion, Kseniia Malykh, stated the participation is perceived as a legitimization of Russia's actions in Ukraine. In response to the decision, the Russian feminist anti-Putin protest group Pussy Riot announced it will stage a protest performance in Venice. The group called Russia's participation a "serious blow to Europe's security" and an instrument of hybrid warfare.