Among the many responses in the West to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been the cancellation of all things Russian. To give a few examples: Canada canceled concerts by the 20-year-old pianist, Alexander Malofeev. In the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy, performances featuring Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky were axed. The International Paralympic Committee barred Russian and Belarussian athletes from joining the Games in Beijing. And the name of the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin was removed from a Space Foundation fundraiser. On smaller scales, academics are being uninvited, vandals have attacked Slavic groceries, and Russian restaurants have lost customers.
Gary Saul Morson, an expert in Russian literature and thought, explains why he sees red flags in this kind of cancel culture thinking. Morson is a professor of Slavic languages and literatures at Northwestern University, and co-author of the recent book, “Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us.”
