Putinist art: Russia cracks down on cultural freedom

The crackdown on rights and freedoms that accelerated with Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin is rapidly extending to the realm of arts and culture. In the past few years, contemporary art exhibits and film screenings have occasionally come under attack from obscure vigilantes who deemed them insulting to Russian “traditional values”. But more recently, government officials, abetted by top clergy and eagerly assisted by loyal artistic figures, have begun to wage aggressive campaigns against film and theatre productions.

The New Yorker, 01.04.15: The New Russian Censors http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-new-russian-censors

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