Russian cancel culture hypocrisy

"Valery Gergiev, the star Russian maestro and prominent supporter of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, was removed Tuesday from his post as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic after he refused to denounce Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine." New York Times, March 1, 2022

I feel sorry for the girl. I feel sorry for the Russian conductor, too.

I’d feel bad if Gergiev was cancelled for “being Russian.” But he isn’t and no one is.

He was cancelled because of his long-standing, open embrace of the Putin regime. Putin wants to equate being Russian with supporting him, but plenty of dissidents and defectors and just plain apolitical Russians prove that’s a lie.

His political opinions have nothing to do with his profession, though. It seems wrong.