‘Nutcracker’ Is a Casualty of a ‘Quarantine’ of Russian Culture in Lithuania

Unimpressed by the substitute for Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker,” the mother and her young daughter left at the intermission, a small protest over a decision by the opera house not to perform the Russian composer’s Christmas classic.

“Everything about ‘The Nutcracker’ is much better — the music, the dance, the story,” said Egle Brediene, 38, hurrying out of Lithuanian’s National Opera and Ballet Theater this past week after the first act of a replacement ballet composed by an Italian.

Lithuania, an unwavering supporter of Ukraine in the war waged by Russia, set aside Tchaikovsky and the holiday favorite two years ago after declaring a “mental quarantine” from Russian culture in a gesture of solidarity against the aggressor.

That stirred grumbling by theatergoers, but their annoyance had largely calmed — until a new government took power in Lithuania this month and a newly installed culture minister announced that he liked listening to Tchaikovsky. There was no reason, the minister, Sarunas Birutis, said in a radio interview, to be “afraid that after watching a Christmas fairy tale we will become pro-Kremlin.”

His remarks prompted fury from ardent supporters of Ukraine and applause from lovers of Russian music, igniting a bitter debate, largely one between generations, about whether culture and politics can be separated at a time of war.

Many in the art world oppose banning works on the basis of their nationality, believing that culture has the power to unite and should not be contaminated by politics.