Milan, 23 July. (LaPresse) – ‘An unprecedented smear campaign has been launched against V.A. Gergiev in the Italian media and public opinion, on the initiative of Ukrainian neo-Nazis and some Russophobic politicians.’ This was stated by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in response to a question about the Russian conductor's cancelled concert at the Royal Palace of Caserta. ‘We strongly condemn these discriminatory attempts to “cancel culture” by the Italian authorities,’ Zakharova added, ‘significant in this context are the comments condemning the decision both in Italy, where such actions have been described as shameful and contrary to democracy, and in other Western countries, where what happened has been described as a fatal mistake.’
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