Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced what he calls a “barbaric” effort to erase Russian culture across the world, particularly in Ukraine, where de-Russification campaigns have intensified since the 2022 escalation of the war.
Putin’s comments came during a meeting on Saturday with Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, in which the president praised the Church's role in preserving Russian cultural identity under growing international pressure.
“Safeguarding Russian culture is especially important at a time when we are witnessing not just attacks on Russia, but a barbaric treatment of our culture—even when it forms part of global heritage,” Putin stated.
Although he did not name specific countries, the context strongly suggested a reference to Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to eliminate public symbols and institutions connected to Russia or its Soviet past.
Since the full-scale outbreak of the conflict with Russia in 2022, Ukrainian authorities have intensified efforts to remove Russian cultural symbols, enacting a so-called “decolonization” law. This legislation has led to the removal of monuments, the renaming of streets, and the banning of historical references perceived as linked to Russian imperialism.
Among the most controversial acts was the demolition of a statue of Empress Catherine the Great in Odessa in December 2022. Catherine founded the Black Sea port city in 1794, but Ukrainian officials argued the statue represented Moscow’s imperial ambitions.
Other removals followed, including monuments to literary giants such as Alexander Pushkin and Vladimir Vysotsky, both widely revered beyond Russia’s borders. Odessa’s city council claimed the monuments served as “symbols of Russian imperial policy.”
In tandem with cultural reforms, Kiev has accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of maintaining clandestine ties with the Russian state, despite the UOC’s formal break from the Moscow Patriarchate in 2022.
This has prompted a sweeping crackdown, including arrests of clergy, raids on church property, and legislative moves to ban religious groups suspected of affiliations with “aggressor states.”
Putin and Patriarch Kirill both criticized these measures, with the Russian president warning of a “broader campaign to marginalize Orthodox believers” under the pretext of national security.
Beyond Ukraine, Western institutions have also drawn criticism for targeting Russian artists and cultural figures in what the Kremlin characterizes as ideological overreach.
Earlier this month, Russian photographer Mikhail Tereshchenko was barred from attending the World Press Photo Foundation awards ceremony in Amsterdam, despite being one of the contest’s winners. Dutch officials cited geopolitical tensions as the reason for his exclusion.
Putin described these actions as unprecedented in modern times and said they reflected poorly on the institutions enforcing them.
We have not seen such open hostility toward Russian identity for decades,Vladimir Putin