A Ukrainian conductor has been shot dead in his own home by Russian troops for refusing to take part in a concert in occupied territory, Kyiv has claimed.
Yuriy Kerpatenko snubbed the Kremlin-backed concert ‘intended by the occupiers to demonstrate the so-called ‘improvement of peaceful life’ in Kherson’, the Ukrainian culture ministry said.
The October 1 concert was scheduled to include a performance by the Gileya chamber orchestra.
Kerpatenko was their principal conductor but he ‘categorically refused to cooperate with the occupants’, Ukraine said.
The musician was also the principal conductor of Kherson’s Mykola Kulish Music and Drama Theatre, The Guardian reported.
He regularly posted defiant anti-war messages on Facebook until May and family members outside Kherson say they lost contact with him in September.
It is believed Russian troops raided his village and executed him in cold blood.
The Kherson regional prosecutor’s office has now launched a formal investigation ‘on the basis of violations of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder’.
Fellow musicians and artists around the world have condemned the shocking killing.
Dalia Stasevska, who was due to conduct this summer’s Last Night of the Proms in London before it was cancelled, said: ‘The history of Russia imposing a ‘comply or die’ policy against artists is nothing new. It has a history which spans for hundred of years.’
The Finnish-Ukrainian conductor added: ‘I have seen too much silence from Russian colleagues. Would this be the time for Russian musicians, especially those living and working abroad, to finally step up and take a stand against the Russian regime’s actions in Ukraine?’
Victoria Amelina, a Ukrainian author and war crimes investigator, said: ‘We know the Russian regime is hunting activists, journalists, artists, community leaders, and anyone ready to resist the occupation.
‘Yet, even knowing the current pattern and history, we cannot and, more importantly, shouldn’t get used to hearing about more brutal murders of a bright, talented, brave people whose only fault was being Ukrainian.’
Acclaimed novelist Andrey Kurkov who wrote Death and the Penguin said: ‘Now the name of Yuriy Kerpatenko will be added to the list of murdered artists of Ukraine.
‘I increasingly think that Russia is not only seeking to occupy Ukrainian territories, but also diligently destroying Ukrainian identity, an important part of which is Ukrainian culture.’
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It’s should be a crime for orchestra conductors to sing themselves… their main job is leading the orchestra.