Football, Eurovision and business rush to ditch links to Moscow over Ukraine invasion
The Royal Opera House cancelled a season of performances by Moscow’s famed Bolshoi Ballet, European football’s governing body took the Champions League final away from St Petersburg, and a host of Russian businesses were rocked by resignations of big-name European directors. In the hours and days following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it became clear that Russia is no longer a welcome member of western society.
For a long time, Russia appeared to be working tirelessly on its “soft power” credentials, spending billions of roubles to portray itself as a welcoming member of the international community, one that was a victim of western bias and “Russophobia”.
Despite the Crimean annexation of 2014 and the jailing of opposition leaders, the Kremlin often looked to be successful in its mission, winning the rights to host leading sporting and cultural events, giving it a global platform to carefully construct its image for the outside world.
“Do not try to paint with a dark paint everything that comes from the east,” Fifa’s president Gianni Infantino said during the build-up to the 2018 football World Cup, referring to the tournament’s host, Russia.
A year after the event, Infantino returned to Moscow to receive a state medal from Putin, whom he thanked for hosting the “best World Cup ever”.
“The world has created bonds of friendship with Russia that will last for ever,” a smiling Infantino said. The “for ever” friendship lasted until Thursday, when Putin ordered his troops to enter Ukraine, unleashing a bloody war that had been unimaginable to many.
“Russia has become as toxic as it gets for the west, and the war is not yet over,” said Russian political analyst Anton Barbashin. “We can’t even start to imagine what kind of
Read more on theguardian.com
