Another message of closeness with Italy, a new hat-trick for the Bel Paese, despite the fact that the two countries have been on opposing sides in the war in Ukraine for two years. This is the second time in two weeks that Vladimir Putin, responding to the question of Italian citizens, has complimented our history and culture. And the links with Russia. This happened on February 20 at the Moscow Institute of International Studies. On this occasion, Irene Cecchini, 22 years old, originally from Lodi, asked a question in Russian to the president who did not miss the opportunity to highlight how, in the past, he had been received with kindness during his trips to Italy. “I always felt at home, that’s for sure,” he commented. And so almost two weeks later, the similar scene was repeated in Sochi, during the International Youth Forum. But this time it was not an ordinary citizen who spoke, but him. Street artist Jorit.
The question and the selfie
The 33-year-old found himself at the center of controversy last summer for creating a huge mural in the Russian army-occupied city of Mariupol, in Donbass. To those who accused him of being pro-Russian and of taking the side of the occupying army, he replied that he was “a free artist” who had the duty to “show the other side of the coin and to create debate. A few months earlier, he had received compliments from the Russian president for another work created in Naples and dedicated to Dostoyevsky. Jorit landed in Sochi on March 3 to participate in the Forum, discuss with the young people present and unveil a mural he created as part of the World Street Art Festival. New forms. “When I thought about what could be a way to bring Russia and Italy closer together, I thought of the great actress Ornella Muti,” explained Ciro Cerullo, alias Jorit, in the presence of the actress who 'thanked and hugged. Then he Street artist he went to the International Youth Forum and, on the sidelines of Putin's speech, spoke with a question and a request: “Can art be a tool for uniting different countries and nations?” “, the question. And he added: “I would like to ask you for the pleasure of taking a photo together, to show Italy that you are human like all of us, to counter Western propaganda and to reaffirm that we are all part of the human community” . The Russian president reportedly responded: “We have always been admired by Italian art and it has always held us close. But it is not only art that unites the two peoples”, then he adds a non-random reference to our history: “Italy's struggle for independence, did not Garibaldi unite us ? It has always united us. Italians always have a desire for freedom in their hearts. And that means you respect the desire of other peoples to make their choices and choose their destiny. » Then Jorit joined him on stage and they took a photo together.
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