The Russian president participated in the opening of social facilities in various regions of the country via videolink. The construction or major renovation of these facilities has been completed as part of federal and regional development programs.
"Uneducated people cancel our culture, but we appreciate the best works, best examples of other countries’ culture and also advance those ideas and humanistic principles that are embedded in these works. We are smart, while those who cancel our culture are not," Putin said, commenting on the program of the Zabaikalsky Regional Drama Theatre in the city of Chita, which stages plays by both domestic and foreign authors.
Visitors at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome attend an exhibition of paintings from the collection of the Institute for Russian Realist Art (IRRA), state-owned museums and private collections called 'Russia on the Road (1920-1990).' Center: The New Moscow by Yury Pimenov, courtesy of the State Tretyakov Gallery
© Sputnik / Natalia Seliverstova
/ On February 24, Russia began a military operation in Ukraine after calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Western countries have responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia, including against its energy and cultural sectors.
Russia has faced problems with the return of its art works from overseas exhibitions, while many Western countries have canceled shows by Russian performers, removed Russian literature from educational programs and demolished monuments dedicated to prominent Russian individuals.