Sarajevo Institute Cancels Russian Musicians' Concert
The Bosniak Institute Foundation in Sarajevo cancelled a concert by young Moscow Conservatory musicians. The Russian Embassy in Bosnia says it was told two hours before the start.
A concert of Russian classical music in Sarajevo, scheduled for the evening of October 12, was cancelled two hours before it began, and the Russian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina accused the host in an October 13 statement of caving in to pressure. The dispute also touches Serbia’s neighborhood: the same program by young musicians was performed in Banja Luka and East Sarajevo, both in Republika Srpska, but not in the Bosnian capital.
What happened to the concert in Sarajevo?
The Bosniak Institute Foundation in Sarajevo cancelled a concert in the “Rising Stars” project. It was to be performed by young musicians from the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory. The program included works by Sergei Taneyev, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Konstantin Mostras, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt and Luigi Bassi, along with Russian folk pieces.
The Embassy says notice of the unilateral cancellation arrived only two hours before the start, and that the date had been properly agreed in advance. The available sources do not carry a statement from the Bosniak Institute itself.
What is alleged about the co-organizer?
According to the portal Klix, Institute staff learned only a few hours before the concert of an unannounced co-organizer, the Russkiy Mir Foundation. Klix reports that Vladimir Putin founded the foundation in 2007, that it is under European Union sanctions, and that it is linked to denial of the Srebrenica genocide, citing a report by BIRN and the Srebrenica Memorial Center.
In its statement, the Embassy names the Russkiy Mir Foundation, the Moscow Conservatory and the federal agency Rossotrudnichestvo as patrons. The sources do not say whether or how the Institute responded to those claims.
What does the Russian Embassy say?
The Embassy expressed regret that the Institute’s leadership gave in to pressure from “Russophobic elements in Sarajevo,” who, it claims, want to undermine cultural cooperation between the two countries. It added:
It is a particular source of regret that these are young, talented musicians whose only aim was to spread friendship and dialogue through music and to build new bridges between our peoples.
That is how the statement described the musicians whose performance was cancelled. It closed with a message expressing hope that the dispute will have no further consequences:
For that reason, we express the hope that this incident with the “Bosniak Institute” will remain just one stumbling block on the broad path of our cooperation, and that people will be able to enjoy Russian art not only in Sarajevo but in more cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Embassy also said that the audience turnout and the reactions after the cancellation once again confirmed the good relations between the peoples of Bosnia and Russia, and that Russian culture cannot be abolished.
