EU Commission threatens to freeze €2 million for Venice Biennale over Russia’s pavilion

The letter was sent by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) to Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, president of the Biennale.

According to the media, the commission has initiated a procedure to freeze or cancel the funding allocated to the cultural institution. The organizers now have 30 days to clarify their position. If the decision on Russia’s participation is not reversed, the Biennale risks losing the €2 million ($2.4 million) grant allocated until 2028.

On April 10, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree enacting a National Security and Defense Council decision imposing sanctions on five Russian cultural figures, including Anastasia Karneeva, commissioner of the Russian pavilion since 2021, and Mikhail Shvydkoy, Putin’s special representative for cultural cooperation. The Office of the President said Ukraine would pass all necessary information to partners for the synchronization of sanctions in their jurisdictions.

Russia's participation in the 2026 Venice Biennale

Russia’s participation in the 2026 Venice Biennale was announced on March 3 by Mikhail Shvydkoy, who said the Russian pavilion would open in May 2026 for the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

On March 4, the Biennale organizers themselves confirmed Russia’s return, stating that “the Venice Biennale rejects any form of exclusion or censorship of culture and art.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna called on the organizers to reconsider the decision. They stressed that since 2014 Russia has deliberately destroyed Ukrainian cultural heritage sites, violating both international humanitarian law and the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

Lithuania also condemned the decision. “The Venice Biennale’s decision to roll out the red carpet for Russia’s dark cultural diplomacy is disgusting,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys.

The governments of 22 European countries signed a joint protest against Russia’s participation and delivered it to Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco and Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli.

The Italian Ministry of Culture stated that Russia’s participation was a fully autonomous decision of the Biennale Foundation, despite the government’s opposing position. The Biennale has provided the ministry with all requested information and insists that “no rules were violated and sanctions against Russia were fully observed.”