No Stage for Putin’s Supporter
Together with GZA Europe, we are once again organizing a demonstration against the performance of Anna Netrebko at the Classic Open Air Festival in Berlin.
📅 July 21, 6:00–9:00 PM
📍 Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin
This time, we are preparing something special.
We want everyone attending this concert to see:
It is shameful to offer a stage to someone who has supported Vladimir Putin.
That’s why it is important that we remain visible throughout the entire event.
What is happening?
On July 21, 2025, Anna Netrebko is scheduled to perform at the Classic Open Air Festival at Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin.
Her appearance is being promoted as a “Top Event” on VisitBerlin.de – a platform partially funded with public money by the Berlin Senate.
Why should Netrebko not be given a stage?
– 2010: Appeared in a dress printed with “Nach Berlin!” and wearing the St. George’s ribbon – both now symbols of Russian war propaganda.
– 2012: Publicly supported Vladimir Putin’s presidential “election.”
– 2014: Donated 1 million rubles to separatists in Donetsk and posed with the flag of “Novorossiya” – a symbol of Russian occupation.
– 2021: Celebrated her birthday in the Kremlin and received personal congratulations from Putin.
– Since 2007: Patron of an SOS Children’s Village in Tomilino, near Moscow.
In 2022, Ukrainian children were deported to that same facility — forcibly taken from their homes and used for Russian propaganda.
Netrebko has never commented on this and has not ended her patronage — even though the deportation of children with the intent to erase national identity is clearly defined as genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
– To this day: No clear distancing from the regime. No word about the aggressor. Instead: complaints about “Russophobia.”
What have we done?
We have once again sent an open letter to the Berlin authorities — addressed to Berlin City Hall (Rotes Rathaus), the Classic Open Air Festival at Gendarmenmarkt, DEAG Classics AG, and the VisitBerlin platform.
So far, there has been no response.
Already in 2023, following Netrebko’s first performance in Berlin after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, we issued an open letter.
It was signed by numerous organizations and prominent individuals — including Timothy Snyder, Oleksandra Matviichuk, and many more.
📄 You can download the full text of the current open letter here:
OPEN LETTER 3 _ No Stage for Anna Netrebko!
What can you do?
📍 Join the demonstration:
Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin
July 21, 2025 | 6:30 PM
📩 Write to the organizers:
info@deag.de | tickets@classicopenair.de
We kindly ask you to adhere to the principles of German freedom of speech law.
🔁 Share this call — art must not legitimize propaganda.
🙏 Thank you to everyone supporting our work — your solidarity fuels our protests, research, and actions.
If you’re able to, please consider donating so we can stay loud and visible:
https://vitsche.org/donate/