Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia was being ‘cancelled’ and complained that Western sanctions were part of ‘progressive discrimination of everything to do with Russia’
Putin compares himself to J.K. Rowling in ‘cancel culture’ trend
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has compared himself to Harry Potter author JK Rowling, saying that he was being “cancelled” just as she was, adding that “cancel culture” as the same as Nazis trying to burn books in the 1930s.
In a bizarre rant, Putin said Ms Rowling was cancelled “just because she didn’t satisfy the demands of gender rights”.
Speaking in Russia to a video-call meeting with officials and cultural workers he said: “They are now trying to cancel our country.
“I’m talking about the progressive discrimination of everything to do with Russia.”
There was also a campaign against Russian composers including Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Rachmaninov, he added.
Comparing “culture warriors” to Nazis lining up to burn books in the 1930s, he said: ”We remember the footage when they were burning books.
“It is impossible to imagine such a thing in our country and we are insured against this thanks to our culture.
“And it’s inseparable for us from our motherland, from Russia, where there is no place for ethnic intolerance, where for centuries representatives from dozens of ethnic groups have been living together.”
Rowling responded dismissively to Putin’s claims, tweeting a link to a news story about about jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny and wrote: “Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance, or who jail and poison their critics”. She added the hashtag: ‘#IStandWithUkraine’.
