Ukrainian Ambassador to Slovenia Petro Beshta warned that a concert by Russian violinist Vadim Repin scheduled for July 27 in Ljubljana represents a test of European sanctions and an attempt to legitimize the Kremlin, after the Slovenian Ministry of Culture allowed the event to proceed.
In an opinion column published in the leading Slovenian daily [Delo](https://www.delo.si/mnenja/gostujoce-pero/kulturna-diplomacija-ali-orodje-politicnega-vpliva), Beshta said the performance at the Union Hall of the Grand Hotel Union constitutes a coordinated act of Russian hybrid influence designed to whitewash supporters of the Kremlin regime.
Repin, awarded the title of People’s Artist of Russia by President Vladimir Putin in 2022 after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is married to Svetlana Zakharova, a former State Duma deputy from the ruling United Russia party and prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre. Repin’s eponymous foundation receives financial subsidies from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, a structure created by Putin’s decree.
####Kremlin ties and previous cancellations
The Ukrainian diplomat noted that Russian state media routinely present foreign tours by Repin and other loyal artists as evidence that Moscow retains international cultural authority despite sanctions and the ongoing war. Concert halls in multiple countries have previously cancelled Repin’s performances after learning about his connections to the Kremlin.
“The announced concert is not a private artistic event but a planned test to determine the resilience of European sanctions,” Beshta wrote. Any commercial activity, payment of fees, or provision of performance venues to Russian artists who support Putin’s policy constitutes indirect investment in the state infrastructure that enables Russia’s war against Ukraine, he argued.
The source material also highlights that Repin’s wife Svetlana Zakharova served as a confidante for Putin during elections, further tying the couple to the Kremlin propaganda apparatus.
####European solidarity at stake
Beshta said that while Slovenia hosts Ukrainian refugees and professes commitment to EU security principles, the decision by the Ljubljana Festival management to host Repin contradicts broader European solidarity and security policy. He called for the concert’s cancellation as a necessary preventive measure to protect the European information space from Moscow’s ideological manipulation.
International practice of boycotting Russian artists who collaborate with the Kremlin is part of the overall deterrence strategy, and Ljubljana should not break this consolidated approach, the ambassador added.
The performance is scheduled for 8 p.m. on July 27 at the Union Hall of the Grand Hotel Union in Ljubljana. The Slovenian Ministry of Culture has not issued a public statement on the controversy.
