How is it possible that in a city awarded the Gold Medal of the Resistance it is not possible to speak about the Ukrainian resistance?
This is what has happened to our association, active in several Italian cities.
We are organizing a screening of a documentary on the participation of anti-authoritarian activists in the conflict triggered by Russian aggression, with the participation of a representative of the Ukrainian association Solidarity Collectives.
We requested and obtained availability from both the Fondo Comini Neighborhood Center and an Intercultural Center, both municipal venues. On both occasions, however, with the initiative already announced and publicized, we were contacted again to revoke the previously granted availability. In the second case, we were explicitly told that anonymous intimidating phone calls had been received.
In the meantime, we encountered similar difficulties in organising the same event in Turin. At this point, we address the city directly to ask: is it still possible in Bologna to express solidarity with the resistance of the Ukrainian people?
In Bologna, which has already been marked by initiatives — even on the anniversary of Liberation — where St. George ribbons, a symbol of Russian military glory, are distributed, and flags of the so-called “people’s republics” of the Donbas and of their military brigades are openly displayed.
In Bologna, where, on the same days as our initiative, a festival of documentaries by RussiaToday/Ruptly — the main outlet of Russian propaganda abroad, directly controlled by the Kremlin and sanctioned by the European Union — has been announced, without any voices of condemnation being raised.
It is time to recognize that Italy too is a target of hybrid warfare by the authoritarian regime in Moscow. In this context, inaction, minimization, quietism, and equidistance risk becoming forms of complicity.