The corresponding decree was published on the President's Office website.
Anastasia Karneeva, who has served as the commissioner of the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 2021 and will represent Russia there this year, is among the sanctioned figures.
Karneeva is the daughter of Nikolay Volobuev, a retired general and deputy director of Rostec, one of Russia's largest defense corporations, according to Ukrainska Pravda. Volobuev earlier worked as deputy head of the Russian Federal Customs Service and director for special assignments at Rosoboronexport. He served in the structures of the USSR KGB and the Russian FSB from 1975 to 2004.
Mikhail Shvydkoy, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's special representative for cultural cooperation, also fell under the restrictions. He openly supports Russia's war against Ukraine, calling it an "important historical moment." Shvydkoy was the first to announce the return of the Russian delegation to the Venice Biennale.
Russia's participation in the Biennale is "another proof that Russian culture is not isolated and that attempts to 'cancel' it, which Western political elites have been making for the past four years, have not succeeded," according to the Russian official.
Violinist Valeria Oliynyk, singer Ilya Tatakov, and vocalist Artem Nikolaev were also sanctioned. Oliynyk and Nikolaev visited temporarily occupied Crimea, while Tatakov participated in the creation of a propaganda film in the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast.
"Russia's participation in the Venice Biennale is not about culture, but about using international platforms to legitimize aggression and spread propaganda," Presidential Advisor on Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk noted.
"You are either against the Russian regime and have access to the cultural space of the free world, or you serve propaganda, receive sanctions, and participate in a cucumber festival."
Ukraine will transfer all necessary information to its partners to synchronize sanctions in their jurisdictions.