CultureArt for freedom: Maria Kalesnikava in Bonn

Belarusian musician and civil rights activist Maria Kalesnikava delivered the keynote speech at the 2026 Beethovenfest in Bonn, arguing that art is vital to a free society. She said Russia’s war against Ukraine is also a war against European values and culture. Kalesnikava spent five years detained as a political prisoner and now lives in Berlin, where she seeks to draw attention to Belarus’s political prisoners and the fragility of free artistic expression.

Maria KalesnikavaBeethovenfestartistic freedomBelarus

DDW★★☆☆☆2026-10-09 13:03Original