MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. Those who stand behind the campaign to "cancel" Russian culture first and foremost punish themselves and their citizens, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday.
"Culture and art, the spheres which are called on to unite people, are facing a geopolitical confrontation today. Attempts are being made to cancel everything that has to do with Russia, erase it from the heritage of civilization. In fact, those who stand behind this campaign deprive themselves, their peoples, their citizens, of the opportunity to appreciate true masterpieces," the president said in a video address on opening of Academy of Artistic Industries at the Tavrida art cluster, which was released on the Kremlin website.
Putin added that Russia needs no guidelines or standards that suppress any national distinct identity.
"We deeply respect the legacy of world culture. It is impossible to even imagine any attempts to cancel it in our country. But looking at what is going on in the world we increasingly come to realize that we do not need guidelines or standards imposed from the outside which suppress our distinctive national character and originality," he stressed.
The president congratulated young people and the teaching staff on the opening of the Academy of Artistic Industries at the Tavrida art cluster, describing it as an exciting and important event.
The Meganom Academy of Artistic Industries opened its doors on Saturday in Kapsel Bay near Sudak in Crimea. Five residential buildings for students and teachers, a canteen, a hospitality center, an exhibition hall and other technological facilities have been constructed on the academy’s 27-hectare territory. The academy accommodates modern creative spaces for architects, musicians, artists and designers, filmmakers, writers, and other creative people.