The difference between free speech and propaganda

It has come to our attention that journalists Judith Miller and Paul Du Quenoy recently wrote an article for RealClearPolitics regarding our public action vis-à-vis Vadim Repin and the Palm Beach Symphony. In order to clear up any confusion we have decided to issue a response and reiterate the following points.

Since many Ukrainians and Ukrainian-Americans either lived in the USSR during the Soviet era or came from the occupied areas of Ukraine today, many of us have personal experiences of being subjected to the repression and the real cancel culture and censorship from Moscow; the kind that can get one arrested and killed. We at UA Florida, therefore, would never advocate for anything close to it anywhere on Earth. Ukrainians are firm believers in the sanctity of freedom of expression; it is why thousands of us have paid the ultimate price resisting the Russian enslavement in the last 12 years. In fact, in order to demonstrate our commitment to tolerance of all viewpoints we challenge Judith Miller and Paul Du Quenoy to debate us directly regarding any Ukraine topic anytime and anywhere. We are keenly aware of Paul Du Quenoy's role as a defender and a curator of the remnants of the Russian tsarist family and are not afraid to face his Russophile arguments.

However, we feel it is our duty to educate people who may never experienced real life in the USSR or lived under Russian rule today just how Russian government and Russian society work. The Russian government today, just like in the Soviet times, is an authoritarian dictatorship and, thus, controls most aspects of public life in Russia, directly or indirectly. There is no such thing as an independent artist or performer in Russia today. Anyone who acquires any kind of significant following must have a relationship with the Russian government, toe the party line (or at least passively acquiesce to it), and be used as a tool of Russian propaganda. In essence, the artist must become part of the system. A refusal would result in relentless persecution and harassment by the Russian state. For example, we can mention the persecution of rock musicians Zemfira and Yuriy Shevchuk, rappers Oxxxymiron and Noize MC, TV personality Maxim Galkin, and many, many more. The authors point out that Vadim Repin didnt make any public statements regarding the current war in Ukraine; however, that stems from a misunderstanding of how the Russian system works. He didnt need to make any statements - in the manner similar to people who acquiesced to Hitlers rule, his passive acquiescence was enough. As if to prove our point, his choice of performance was a composition by Sergei Prokofiev, a world famous composer of Ukrainian descent, born in the Donbas in the precise location claimed by Russia today while being leveled by Russian bombs. Furthermore, his wife Svetlana Zakharova, as we mentioned, is a parliamentary deputy of Putin's United Russia party. Since Russia is not a democracy, the only people chosen to be United Russia deputies are people who are members of Putin's inner circle and are therefore complicit in his actions; it is implausible to presume otherwise. It important to differentiate between a person being able to freely express their beliefs and an agent of a dictatorship acting as a tool of foreign propaganda. Vadim Repin and Anna Netrebko fall squarely in the latter category, which is the message that we were attempting to deliver to the Palm Beach Symphony as taxpayers of Palm Beach County.

We would also like to point out that we at UA Florida are not anti-Russian and we respect Russian culture and the Russian people. We only object to the current dictatorship ruling Russia which has enslaved and impoverished it and is now attempting to enslave Ukraine as well. We actively court relationships with many Russian Democracy organizations, such Russian Americans For Democracy, because we believe in the fundamental American value that democracy and personal freedoms are the best choices for all people. We welcome anyone who shares our belief that truth, liberty, and light, will triumph over darkness. Frankly, if Judith Miller and Paul du Quenoy value freedom of expression as much as they say they do, instead of criticizing us they should be joining us.

UA Florida

2026