The Minister of Culture of Italy will boycott the opening of the Venice Biennale due to the Russian pavilion.

Italian Minister of Culture to Boycott the Opening of the Venice Biennale Due to Russia’s Participation

Italian Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli announced that he will not attend the opening of the 61st Venice Biennale in protest against the presence of the Russian pavilion at the event.

Moscow received permission to open a pavilion at this year’s biennale, raising concerns within the Italian government and in Brussels. Tensions escalated further after the biennale jury announced the exclusion of Russia and Israel from the list of award contenders. The statement indicated that countries whose leaders are accused by the International Criminal Court of crimes against humanity will be excluded from the competition.

The Italian Ministry of Culture confirmed that Giuli will not participate in events in Venice scheduled for the days before the opening and will not be present at the ceremony on May 9. Meanwhile, the Russian pavilion will be closed to visitors during the entire biennale from May 9 to November 22, 2026, and only media will be allowed to visit it from May 6 to 8.

The background to this decision dates back to the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after which Russian participation in the biennale was suspended. Curators and artists refused to work on the Russian pavilion. Despite this, in March, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for Russia’s exclusion from participation in the Venice Biennale.

The Venice Biennale is one of the most prestigious international exhibitions of contemporary art, held since 1895 and gathering art figures from many countries. Previous exclusions of Russia from similar international events occurred recently when it was announced that Russian athletes would be able to compete under their own flags at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, leading to a boycott by Ukraine and several other states.