Russian soldiers shot dead a Ukrainian musician in his home after he refused to participate in a concert in occupied Kherson, according to the Ministry of Culture in Kyiv.
The ministry said in a statement that the conductor of the orchestra, Yuri Kirpatenko, refused to participate in a concert “which was intended by the occupiers to demonstrate the so-called ‘improvement of peaceful life’ in Kherson.” statement on her Facebook page.
The aim of the concert on October 1 was to highlight Gillia Chamber Orchestraof which Kirpatenko was the main commander, but “categorically refused to cooperate with the passengers,” the statement said.
It was Kirpatenko, who was also the main conductor of the Mykola Kulish Music and Drama Theater in Kherson, Post challenge messages On his Facebook page until May.
Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine has An official investigation has begun “On the basis of violations of the laws and customs of war, coupled with willful killing.” She added that family members outside Kherson lost contact with Mosul in September.
The condemnation of Ukrainian and world artists was swift. “Russia’s history of imposing a ‘comply or die’ policy against artists is nothing new. It has a history spanning hundreds of years,” said the conductor of the Finnish-Ukrainian Orchestra. Dalia Stasevskawhich was scheduled to take place on the last night of the prom at London’s Albert Hall last month before it was canceled due to the Queen’s death.
“I’ve seen a lot of silence from my Russian colleagues,” she said. Is this the time for Russian musicians, especially those who live and work abroad, to finally step up and take a stand against the actions of the Russian regime in Ukraine? “
Two weeks ago, Stasevska drove a truck of humanitarian supplies to Lviv from her home in Finland, before leading the INSO-Lviv Orchestra at a concert of Ukrainian contemporary music.
“We know that the Russian regime is hunting activists, journalists, artists, community leaders and anyone willing to resist the occupation,” said award-winning Ukrainian novelist turned war crimes investigator Victoria Amelina.
“However, even knowing the current pattern and history, we cannot, and most importantly, not get used to hearing more brutal murders of brilliant, talented and brave people whose only fault was that they were Ukrainians.”
She drew an analogy between Kerpatenko and Mykola Kulish, the Ukrainian playwright after whom the theater in which the conductor works is named.
“Kulich was shot on November 3, 1937, near Sandarukh, together with 289 Ukrainian writers, artists and thinkers. Yuri Kirpatenko was shot in his home in Kherson in October 2022.”
The conductor of the orchestra Semyon Bychkov from Paris, where he performed as the music director of the Czech Philharmonic, said that the actions of the Russians were “pure genocide.” The Saint Petersburg-born conductor left Russia as a young man in the 1970s.
“The tragic irony of this is the talk about the superiority and humanity of Russian culture,” he said. “And here they killed someone who actually brings beauty into people’s lives. It’s disgusting.”
“Bullets don’t distinguish between people. It didn’t make me feel bad because this guy was a train captain, he just confirmed the absolute evil that was going on even before the first bombs fell on Ukraine.”
novelist Andrei KurkovThe author of Death and the Penguin said: “Now the name of Yuriy Kerpatenko will be added to the list of dead artists in Ukraine. I increasingly believe that Russia seeks not only to occupy Ukrainian lands, but also seeks to seriously destroy Ukrainian identity, of which Ukrainian culture is an important part ” .
Ukrainian author Oleksandr MekdHe, who joined the army at the outbreak of the war, and whose house was destroyed by Russian bombing, said: “Russia is trying to rebuild the Soviet Union in the occupied territories. To rebuild something improbable.
The destruction of the culture of enslaved countries was one of the main components of Soviet policy. Killing cultural figures, purging libraries, banning national languages.
“Modern occupiers are completely following this strategy. Destroy culture, sports and education.
And when our lands are dismantled, we will learn dozens and hundreds of these harrowing stories. Stories of destruction and heroic resistance.
“It’s very terrifying,” said the director of the Ukraine National Opera Theater in Kyiv, Anatoly Solovianenko. Whether he is a doctor, worker, or artist, it makes no difference. He was human, and he refused to obey.”