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King’s College London Revises Program After Ukraine Objects to Russian Cultural Reference
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Organizers of a musical event at King’s College London have removed a reference to the Russian Kalinka festival from the program following a request from Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the ministry’s statement, published on Facebook on February 22, the Ukrainian Embassy in London reached out to the event’s organizers, emphasizing that promoting a Russian festival is inappropriate during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
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King’s College clarified that the reference to the Kalinka festival appeared in the retrospective section of the anniversary program and related to a 2014 event focused on Russian music. A representative of the institution apologized for the confusion and confirmed that all digital materials would be revised to eliminate the mention.
“Russian culture, which is used as a tool of the aggressor state, should have no place on the international stage or in the global cultural space,” the Foreign Ministry added.
The debate over cultural representation in the UK has also extended to the theater stage.
A play titled Donbas is currently running at Theatre 503 in London, prompting criticism over concerns that it blurs the reality of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Written by playwright Olha Braga, who describes herself as Ukrainian, the production premiered on February 5 and will run until March 7. It is directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike and features Ukrainian actress Sasha Sizonеnko.
Stand-up comedian Iryna Hil questioned the play’s framing and the author’s background on X. According to Hil, Braga was known as Olha Nikora prior to 2022. A profile on the Vertical Line Theatre website states she was born in “Transnistria, a region in the former USSR,” and emigrated to New Zealand as a teenager.
Several British outlets have praised the production. The Art Desk writes that in the Donbas town where the play is set, “ethnic Ukrainians and ethnic Russians who once played together in the streets, now shoot across them.” Theatre Vibe notes that audiences “start to realise that people are not as clear cut as either Russian or Ukrainian as all these separate countries were once part of the USSR.” A reviewer for London Pub Theatres describes war as “a pointless, meaningless hell,” adding that the play avoids “simply lionising heroic little Ukraine.”
Hil, however, sharply criticized both the play and its reception.
“Donbas was extended for a month due to sold-out performances. Foreigners are writing enthusiastic reviews while the play blurs the line between aggressor and victim, humanizes occupiers alongside Ukrainians. It presents resistance as irrational. It ignores Russia’s crimes,” she said.
Earlier, Switzerland withdrew a planned screening of the propaganda film Maidan: Road to War, produced by the Russian state-backed outlet Russia Today.
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