Feb 18

Feb 18 Protesting Anna Karenina

Chicago, Demonstrations, Protest, Public Declarations

“Love those that hate you, but to love those one hates is impossible.””

— Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

By my estimate, 25 or so members of Chicago’s Ukrainian community gathered outside the Civic Opera House tonight to protest the Joffrey Ballet’s performance of a ballet based on Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. As usual, the Ukrainians created an engaging visual spectacle, using two life-sized dolls fashioned as ballerinas and spattered with red paint to illustrate the cost of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is coming up on its one-year anniversary (February 24, 2022).

Unfortunately, the Ukrainians were not their usual pitch-perfect selves. I certainly can understand protesting a ballet performed by a Russian ballet company under the current circumstances, but the target of this protest was much broader. The protest’s leader contended that the Ukrainian people’s beef was not just with Putin, but also with the Russian people and their culture. In his mind and in the minds of other demonstrators, Tolstoy was somehow implicated in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. When Russia is the issue, time does not span centuries, but rather collapses into a single, continuous point — at least that is how I interpreted what I was hearing tonight. While the comments were somewhat unclear, I had the distinct impression that the demonstrators thought Anna Karenina was a bad book because it was written by a Russian.

While I can certainly understand why the Ukrainians are angry, they are making a mistake condemning Russian culture as a whole. To assert that Russians have not produced great music, dance, visual art, and literature is simply a bridge too far.

At least one theater goer agreed, telling the Ukrainian spokesperson that he can condemn Putin and Russia’s military, but not Tolstoy. Another woman entering the Civic Opera House yelled “Nyet” several times. It was hard to tell whether she was pro-Russian or simply believed Tolstoy is a worthy writer.

The Joffrey’s is probably the highest-profile example of Russian culture currently on display in Chicago. But if the Ukrainians are so disturbed by Russian culture, why are they not protesting outside the Art Institute of Chicago, which holds works by Vasily Kandinsky, El Lissitzky, Alexander Rodchenko, and Kasimir Malevich? The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) regularly performs works by Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky , and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. If they have performed any Russian works since the start of the war, why were there no protests outside of Symphony Center? And the University of Chicago regularly teaches the works of many notable Russian authors, including Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Vladimir Nabokov, Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, and Ivan Turgenev Why no protests in Hyde Park or outside the Graham Center?

Perhaps even more perplexing is the Ukrainians’ decision to protest Joffrey Ballet performances. It is an American ballet company. While I was told that several Russians are dancing in Anna Karenina, they may well be dissidents. In short, the Ukrainians are painting with too broad a brush, and their apparent single stroke to date ignores lots of timeless Russian art and culture regularly available in Chicago.

Tonight’s effort carries great irony. The Russian invasion was sparked by Putin’s desire to “cancel” Ukraine’ borders, culture, and language. Tonight, the Ukrainians are seeking to do the same thing—canceling Russian culture.

Most ticket holders looked at the signs, but continued into the theater without comment. To his credit, the Ukrainian spokesperson told the theater goers to enjoy the ballet, but not to forget the Russian invasion. For my money, that approach makes sense—a demonstration was warranted given the ballet’s focus on something Russia, but it should carried a different message: “Russian has produced great culture, but don’t forget its leader and military are causing grievous harm to an autonomous group of people.”

Ballet goers tend to be well-informed consumers of culture. They have the capacity to draw distinctions between a country’s literary and artistic heritage, on the one hand, and a government that has committed countless atrocities while engaged in an illegal war, on the other. I would be willing to bet that the vast majority whole-heartedly support the Ukrainian people. Alienating likely supporters makes no sense.

Notably, one woman told me that the Joffrey Ballet should have at least had the decency to reschedule the performances for some time after the one-year anniversary date of the Russian invasion. I said to her, “You must be Ukrainian,” but she would only claim to be a “citizen of the world.” She was so impassioned that I finally had to tell her that as a photographer, I was a neutral observer—she really got into my face.

On Sunday, I will be covering the other side of the story—The Rage Against the War Machine demonstration in Washington, D.C. The rally is being held at the Lincoln Memorial, with a march to the White House following the speeches and performances. Up to this point, I have only encountered one side of the story—the Ukrainians’ viewpoint. I will be interested to see what those who oppose the war have to say. As an avid newspaper reader I already know the arguments for refusing to aid the Ukrainians. I heartedly disagree with those arguments, but it will nevertheless be interesting to listen the counter arguments.

Next Friday night, I will be covering the Ukrainian rally in the heart of Chicago’s Ukrainian Village commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion.

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