Russian President Putin defends author J.K. Rowling
The war in Ukraine continues... Among other things, also in the media. Only recently, Vladimir Putin accused the West of wanting to destroy Russian culture. He also took this statement as an opportunity to defend "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling. He compared the Western approach to the book burnings and the alleged "degenerate art" that the Nazis were always talking about.
Today, he said, it was a matter of canceling a 1,000-year-old country and the people who belonged to it. Referring again to the time of the Second World War, he also stated that he was disturbed by the fact that in films it was often pretended that only the USA had liberated Nazi Germany. Russia, he said, had also made a decisive contribution. There is no place for intolerance in Russia. Rather, it is cultural diversity that is the pride of society, among other things.
Many artists lose commissions in other European countries
Putin's speech did not come out of the blue. Shortly after the war began, many artists of Russian origin, such as Valery Gergiev, lost their engagements. Many of them because they did not officially speak out against the war of aggression or the Russian regime.
However, there were also many counter-examples. Namely, artists who lived in Russia until the beginning of the war of aggression and then decided to leave their homeland in protest against the Russian regime.
Putin Compares Russian "Cancel Culture" with Behavior Toward J. K. Rowling
Interestingly, Putin also drew alleged parallels in this context to the behavior of Western society toward "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling. Not only members of the scene know that the author has repeatedly spoken out against the equality of transsexual people in the past. The focus of her criticism was always on trans women, whom she denied their femininity. Her statements shocked many... Even some of those who had celebrated success with the films as actors and actresses.
However, it may also have surprised Rowling herself to be dragged into this issue by Putin. It didn't take long for her to speak out herself on social media. She stated that this type of criticism should not be made by someone who would "slaughter civilians for their resistance." To back up her statement, she additionally linked Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is serving his prison sentence due to his attitude towards the current Russian regime.
Accordingly, it seems that she is extremely uncomfortable with this kind of defense, because... Just inappropriate.
Book burnings and the current "Cancel Culture" - a limp comparison?!
Meanwhile, there are numerous scientists who look for any parallels between Hitler and Putin. Now and then - according to them - they sometimes make a find. One aspect that is emphasized again and again in this context is the tendency to see oneself or one's own country as the victim of others.
Just as Hitler repeatedly emphasized in the 1930s how much Germany had been subjugated by the Treaty of Versailles, Putin never tires of declaring, speaking of the "decadent West" and its plans to destroy Russia.
The comparison and the defense of J.K. Rowling - especially against this background - are a little surprising. But perhaps this action by Putin simply shows that he is trying to appeal to a broader target group? "Annoyingly"(for the Russian president), however, Rowling did not want to be used as a bandwagon here.