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Venice Biennale Takes EU to Court Over Funding Cut Tied to Russia’s Return
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The Venice Biennale announced it will challenge the European Union's decision to strip its funding over Russia's participation, escalating the dispute into a legal fight, according to Ukrinform on July 22.
The exhibition’s organizers said the decision by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is expected, and pledged to defend their rights before every competent authority to overturn it.
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At stake is whether the European Union can wield its cultural budget to enforce a boycott of Russia, and whether the Biennale can resist that pressure in court.
The row began in March, when organizers announced the return of the Russian pavilion, Moscow's first appearance at the Biennale since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Italian government sharply criticized the decision, and the European Commission warned it would suspend or end the grant if the pavilion opened. Ukrinform reported that the bloc later suspended the funding over Russia's presence.
The organizers argued the cut is unjustified because the EU grant co-financed film projects that, they noted, "have nothing to do with Russia's participation."
That reasoning sets the Biennale's legal case apart from the Commission's decision, which turned on Russia's presence, not on how the money was spent, the outlet noted.
The Biennale ranks among the world's best-known cultural forums, staging international exhibitions of art, architecture, film, dance, music, and theater.
Its president, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, defended Russia's return, describing the festival as a "space of coexistence for the entire planet" without censorship.
The organizers now intend to pursue the challenge before regulators and, if necessary, the courts, setting up a drawn-out standoff. Its outcome could shape how Brussels ties cultural funding to the institutions it backs.
Ahead of the opening of the 59th Venice Biennale on April 22, 2022, Ukrainian actor Alexey Yudnikov staged a protest outside the Russian pavilion by wearing a mask depicting the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin.
The performance was part of a demonstration by Ukrainian cultural workers condemning Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine and drawing attention to the war during one of the world’s most prominent international art events.
The Russian pavilion's leadership has drawn scrutiny for its ties to the Kremlin.
Its commissioner since 2021, Anastasia Karneeva, is the daughter of a retired general and former Rostec deputy director, and co-founded an art consultancy with the daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Other participants have been linked to a state platform hosting occupation officials and to a military-backing Culture Ministry program.
Earlier, on July 21, EACEA terminated the ongoing $2.3 million grant to the Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia, money that had supported film producers and immersive technology.
The Commission held that culture paid for by European taxpayers must uphold democratic values and free expression that today's Russia fails to honor.
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