MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia branded the actions of Western countries canceling Russian culture as the peak of hatred. He expressed this opinion on Tuesday at the Federation Council within the framework of the 30th International Educational Readings entitled "On the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great: a secular world and religious devoutness."
"Canceling Russian culture in the West proves the society’s sad moral condition. The attempt to eradicate the culture of one nation or another is the peak of hatred. The only thing worse is the attempt to physically eliminate a nation that became undesirable," the 16th Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church said.
He also noted that Russia even "during the cold war and the battle of ideologies" felt the connection with European culture. According to him, the Russians perceive Western classical literature, music and art as an "intrinsic part of rich Christian civilized heritage."
"And nowadays we continue to view it as such despite everything that is happening. I hope that those who battle Pushkin, Dostoevsky, boycott Tchaikovsky competitions and refuse to play Rachmaninov sooner or later will realize the shame and insanity of committed actions," the Patriarch said.