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“Performers who publicly justify the occupation of Crimea should not be tolerated in any democracy. We have an unequivocal position on the issue of such actors, therefore there was no question about the inclusion of F. Kirkorov on the list of undesirable people in Lithuania, ”says Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė.
On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a presentation to the Migration Department of the Interior Ministry requesting the inclusion of Filip Kirkorov, a Russian-Bulgarian citizen, in the national list of foreigners prohibited from entering the Republic of Lithuania.
15 minutes recalls that the consideration of expanding the so-called blacklist in the public sphere arose from the fact that grants for lost or relocated cultural events were awarded to companies that had planned concerts by Russian artists Filip Kirkorov and Mikhail Shufutinsky.
On Monday, the Lithuanian Artists Association (LMKA) distributed a speech to the president, the president of Seimas, the prime minister and the Seimas Culture Committee. In it, LMKA is outraged that “taxpayer money is being handed over to promoters of Russian pop music without any competition just because no concerts were organized or postponed.” The association also criticizes the decisions of the LCT, stating that the grants awarded to concert organizers by Russian artists do not comply with the order of the Minister of Culture and the values declared in the coalition agreement of the new Government.
Public events taking place in Lithuania with the participation of agents who legitimize the occupation of Crimea and part of the Donbass region were also condemned by the Lithuanian Ukrainian cultural and social communities and personalities.
M.Zacharova: By not allowing artists, Lithuania wants to eradicate a friendly attitude towards Russia
By banning some artists from entering the country, Lithuania seeks to eradicate the friendly attitude of its people towards Russia, says a representative of the country’s Foreign Ministry (MFA).
“We regret that evil Lithuanian politicians are using culture to eradicate the friendly attitude of Lithuanian citizens towards our country,” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday.
Thus, he commented on Lithuania’s decision to add a Bulgarian and Russian citizen, the well-known singer F. Kirkorov, to the list of undesirables.
“We would like to point out that the repressive attitude towards artists has become a real calling card for the new European democracies,” said Zacharova.
According to her, this is not the first time that Russian artists have “intrigued” official Vilnius.
“Previously, AVAleksandrov’s dance and song ensemble, singers G.Leps and O. Gazmanov, could not enter the country,” recalled a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He called the statements by Lithuanian politicians that F. Kirkorov and other Russian artists had become tools of “soft power” as an absurd accusation and utter stupidity.
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