Dubious: Putin Slams Cancel Culture; Cites JK Rowling; As Sanctions Pile On Against Russia Amid Its Invasion Of Ukraine

Keneci Channel

Russian president Vladimir Putin went on a long dubious rant against the west and 'cancel culture' during a televised call with officials and cultural workers Friday, as his troops continue to bombard Ukrainian cities.

Russia and some prominent and/or wealthy Russians have faced a global set of sanctions from many western countries, institutions and businesses.

Putin claimed that Hollywood has written the Red Army’s World War Two achievements out of history, and compared it to the Nazi book burnings of the 1930s. He accused the West of discriminating against "everything to do with Russia."

The Russian leader dubiously brought up J.K. Rowling and the "trend" of cancel culture in the west. The Harry Porter author has been hounded by 'woke' pro-LGBTQ leftists since publicly taking a pro-women stance against transgender degeneracy.

"They [the West] canceled Joanne Rowling recently, the children’s author -- her books are published all over the world -- all because she didn’t satisfy the demands of gender rights," Putin said. "They are trying to cancel our country -- I’m talking about the progressive discrimination of everything to do with Russia. This trend that’s unfolding in a number of Western states with the full neglect and sometimes encouragement of Western cultures that they’re now engaging in cancel culture.”

He also accused institutions of trying to cancel the likes of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Dmitry Shostakovich and Sergei Rachmaninov, along with Dostoyevsky.

"Today they are trying to cancel a whole thousand-year culture, our people," Putin said in the televised meeting. "In this way they are banning Russian writers and books."

Earlier this month, the Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra had removed Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture – which includes a volley of cannon-fire – from its upcoming performances in reaction to the war in Ukraine.

A university in Milan, Italy, had also announced it was pulling a course on Dostoevsky amidst the conflict, before backtracking after being mocked.

"Russian writers and books are cancelled," Putin said. "The latest program to cancel world literature was conducted 90 years ago by the Nazis, we remember that footage when they were burning books."

Reactions to his speech online fell on partisan lines as many things do these days. Leftists claimed Putin's speech is music to the ears of western conservatives who also oppose sexual and transgender degeneracy and divisive cancel culture.

Many conservatives pointed out that while Putin is an authoritarian and a war criminal, his comments are correct.

Responding to Putin on Twitter, Rowling shared a BBC article about jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny and wrote: "Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance, or who jail and poison their critics. #IStandWithUkraine"

WATCH Putin's remarks...