The ongoing crisis between Ukraine and Russia has led to sanctions on Russia and boycotts of many events. Following the war and subsequent attacks on Ukraine in February, there has been a backlash on the Russian government. In addition, Russia is facing cultural boycotts and it is affecting the arts and culture of both countries.

Accordingly, Real Research launched a survey on the Russian cultural boycotts. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has created uproar in world politics and is now sabotaging the arts. In detail, the survey asks respondents their opinion on the cultural boycott of Russia. Also, respondents share if they agree with sanctions on Russian culture. Here are the results.

Highlights

  • More than 85% enjoy the arts.
  • 68.28% say all possible sanctions are necessary for Russia.
  • 72.66% would like to see artists who supported Russia.

81.19% Heard About Russian Artists Being Excluded From Art Events

To begin, the survey asks respondents if they usually enjoy the arts. On this, 86.20% said ‘yes’ and 13.80% said ‘no’.

Furthermore, the survey asks another question related to Russian cultural boycotts. On respondents being aware of Russian artists being excluded from events and competitions, a majority said ‘yes’ (81.19%) while only, 18.81% said ‘no’.

Russian artists
Figure 1: The majority are aware of the news of Russian artists

Moreover, the survey asks if respondents had a performance or exhibition to attend which was canceled due to Russian cultural boycotts. A whopping, 69.61% said ‘yes’ and 30.39% said ‘no’.

Respondents Discuss the Events Canceled Due to Russian Cultural Boycotts

The next question asks which events got cancellation due to Russian cultural boycotts that respondents wanted to attend. Responses are Conductor Valery Gergiev’s concert at Carnegie Hall (44.72%), Russian Bolshoi Ballet (18.51%), and Classical pianist Denis Matsuev’s concert at Carnegie Hall. Also, Soprano Anna Netrebko’s performance (7.24%) and World Famous American rock band Green Day’s Moscow concert (2.81%).

Russian cultural boycotts
Figure 2: Respondents voted for their canceled events due to Russian cultural boycotts

Following this, another question asks respondents if they would like to see performances or exhibitions by artists who supported Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. In response, 72.66% said ‘yes’ while 27.34% said ‘no’.

Besides this, the survey asks how fair it is to boycott artists who did not distance themselves from Putin or fail to speak against war. Here, 44.22% say ‘extremely fair’ and 24.20% say ‘fair’. Also, 20.08% are ‘unsure’ while 11.49% say ‘not fair’.

46.93% Said Russian Cultural Boycott Can Be Highly Effective

Another question asks respondents if they think not only political but economic sanctions are also necessary for Russia. In reply, 68.82% said ‘yes, all possible sanctions are necessary’. In addition, 16.07% said ‘no, all sanctions are unnecessary’. Meanwhile, 14.71% said ‘no, informal sanctions on Russian culture are unnecessary’.

Likewise, the survey asks if respondents think the Russian cultural boycott can be effective. On this, 46.93% say ‘highly effective’, 33.83% say ‘effective’, and 19.24% say ‘not effective’.

 Russian cultural boycott is highly effective
Figure 3: Most of the respondents believe the Russian cultural boycott is highly effective

Lastly, the survey asks respondents,  ‘should art be separated from political issues?’. In answer, 59.98% said ‘yes, art should be separated from political issues’. In contrast, 16.38% said ‘no, it is impossible to separate art and politics’. Lastly, 23.65% are unsure.

Methodology

 
Survey TitleSurvey on the Russian Cultural Boycotts
DurationMarch 15 – March 22, 2022
Number of Participants30,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.