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News & Current Events Apr 24, 2026 at 8:57 AM

The Venice Biennale has lost 2 million euros in funding due to its decision to allow Russia to participate in the 61st contemporary art exhibition

Posted by razdvatri4

The European Commission cuts two million euros to the Venice Biennale for the return of the Russian pavilion
Il Sole 24 ORE
The European Commission cuts two million euros to the Venice Biennale for the return of the Russian pavilion
The Biennale's decision to include Russia in the 61st contemporary art exhibition provoked the withdrawal of European funds, triggering a debate on art and politics.
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DefenestrationPraha Apr 24, 2026 +98
The officers responsible for that decision may have accidentally gained the same amount sent from TotallyNotARussianInfluenceAccount in Dubai, though. This is how Russian influence works. Corrupt the decision makers, and if the target institution suffers a bit, all the better. Weakened institutions are easier to take over.
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Do_itsch Apr 24, 2026 +123
Good.
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Royal_Airport7940 Apr 24, 2026 +27
Politics belongs everywhere. If Politics isn't solved, then you can't have other things. That's it. That simple.
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aleRayRay Apr 24, 2026 +6
I didn’t know politics could be solved… how do you define politics?
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Capable_Kiwi2514 Apr 24, 2026 -2
That's an absurdism. Politics isn't a thing that can be solved, and having non-political spaces for people to share is a good thing.  The "politics should be everywhere" rhetoric is simply a generic excuse that's given for actions that should actually be evaluated on their particular merits.  The apt question in a case like this isn't "should politics be involved?" but rather "what constitutes involving politics and what is the nature of any politics that might be involved?" Whether to invite Russians is an inherently political question, so it can't meaningfully be declaimed as non-political.
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uktabilizard Apr 24, 2026 -23
That’s a weird take. We wouldn’t have the Olympics or the World Cup. We wouldn’t have the International Space Station. Politics is conflict.
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binzoma Apr 24, 2026 +5
people really dont get some really basic shit eh politics is *everywhere*. its literally everything. the power lines carrying power to your house, the roads connecting houses and businesses and cities and countries, the water coming out of the tap, the economy your job exists in, the things you learned in school, the way you interact with random people politics is like spacetime, its the fabric behind everything there is no space on earth that is free of politics. and like racism etc, the only way people can say 'I can ignore politics' or 'politics doesnt impact me', is if they're constantly winning from a system (which means their politics are causing other people to be constantly losing from a system)
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uktabilizard Apr 25, 2026
My point exactly - how are you supposed to solve politics? Humanity moves forward because people are willing to cooperate despite the politics. If we have to wait to solve politics, literally every person on earth would be an island unto themselves.
0
JY0950 Apr 24, 2026 -20
So the world should stop trading?
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Bitter_Nail8577 Apr 24, 2026 +26
Bastards had it coming, good riddance.
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Roselily808 Apr 24, 2026 +22
Good! Let that be a lesson.
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Reznik81 Apr 24, 2026 +18
Rightly so.
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VersusYYC Apr 24, 2026 +8
Russia is a comedy and a circus, but it is not a country or culture in the common understanding. It is an enslaver of such things and to invite Russia today is to invite and celebrate that evil. One day there may be a humane civilization called Russia to invite but it will be significantly smaller, fewer, and more ashamed.
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PlumbicZeppelin Apr 24, 2026 +2
What has Sandro said about this ?
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[deleted] Apr 24, 2026 +1
[removed]
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DeterminedErmine Apr 24, 2026 -25
I mean as an artist I still want to celebrate Russian and Israeli artists
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Royal_Airport7940 Apr 24, 2026 +11
Go celebrate Kid Rock then. See? Not so easy. Before celebrating an artist, make sure they are worth celebrating. Don't go in blind and dont go supporting a regime because... artists
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No_Conversation_9325 Apr 24, 2026 -3
Who cares? Whatever Russia is taking part in is of zero interest to me and many others. We should just stop participating in events plagued by them altogether.
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GnerSpree Apr 24, 2026 -16
What if they are not even living in Russia anymore?
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terminalzero Apr 24, 2026 +12
what if the committee working for the russian government to put on the official, state-sponsored exhibition doesn't live in russia anymore?
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Sudden_Cantaloupe_69 Apr 24, 2026 -5
I mean, Biennale can’t do much about it, if you’ve ever been there you know that countries own their national pavilions in the Giardini.
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Aggravating-Drop7676 Apr 25, 2026 +1
Why does anybody think using EU subsidies to exhibit russian war progaganda is allowable?
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