Ideology officials order to remove famous paintings' prints from central Minsk

The prints of world famous classical paintings had been on the Upper Town cafe's facade in Svabody Square in Minsk since 1 May but the the city's officials in charge of culture and ideology today ordered to remove them immediately. The works by Raphael, da Vinci, Matisse, Michelangelo and other artists angered the officials at the department for ideology and culture at the Minsk City Administration, because they were showcased without a prior permission from them.

Andrei Karavianski, curator of the Minsk Design Week who organized the exhibition told Euroradio:

"I even don't know how to react. There was nothing like a political context or censored body parts... We showcased the masterpieces of the world's art!"



I know the people at the culture department very well. I don't understand their position. I was told to remove the prints immediately at the order of the culture department. There were paintings by Edgar Degas, Raphael, Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, Henri Matisse, Leonardo da Vinci. There was also Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. What could be wrong with it? Perhaps, Edvard Munch's The Scream might have scared someone. I can't get it. On some prints, we had removed some elements. In the Birth of Venus the Venus was removed so that people could take her place for a photograph.



This is the departmenr of culture! The people who are in charge of culture for Minskers. When we were removing the prints, people would be coming up asking to take pictures... "

Minsk City Officials were not available for a quick comment to Euroradio.

The prints in question were earlier showcased in the Contemporary Art Museum and city officials had no problems with with.