The Venice Biennale is standing by its polarizing decision to ignore calls to ban Russia from taking part in this year’s exhibition, insisting it hasn’t broken any rules.In a statement released on Tuesday, the biennale’s organizers said they’ve fully complied with all sanctions imposed on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. “No regulations have been violated,” they said, adding that the Italian culture ministry has been provided with documentation to back up their stance.The move has sparked a major backlash. The European Commission recently warned that allowing Russia to participate could put EU funding for the biennale at risk. Italy’s culture minister, Alessandro Giuli, has also urged organizers to reconsider and revoke the invitation altogether.But the biennale isn’t backing down, and it’s found some political support at home. Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy premier and leader of the League party, defended the decision, arguing that art and culture should bring people together, not deepen divisions.“I believe art, music, and sport should unite cultures, not inflame conflicts,” Salvini said in a recent radio interview. He added that the biennale was right to welcome all participants, including dissident artists.Salvini also pointed to what he sees as a broader trend, noting that a recent invitation to Russian ballerina Svetlana Zakharova for a dance festival in Rome had been withdrawn. “It feels like we’re seeing a kind of Russophobia,” he said. His comments are notable given his past admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a stance that has drawn scrutiny in light of the ongoing war. Mikhail Shvydkoy, Russia’s delegate for international cultural exchanges and the country’s former culture minister, told ARTnews that he expects the Russia pavilion to continue as planned. “Various sanctions may be devised, and official Western institutions may be prohibited from working with us, but no one can deprive Russia of the right to artistic self-expression,” he told ARTnews. He added he believes the biennale’s leadership has shown that it is “ready to seek a compromise [to ensure the pavilion remains open], naturally without wishing to jeopardize the work of the entire Venice Biennale.”Russia has not partcipated in the Biennale since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Its proposed reopening has drawn widespread outrage , with over 8,500 people signing an open letter calling on the biennale’s top brass to “address the implications” of Russia’s participation.The biennale said publicly that it rejects “any form of exclusion or censorship of culture and art.” The organization added that the exhibition should remain “a place of dialogue, openness, and artistic freedom,” even as geopolitical tensions persist. When asked earlier about Russia’s participation, a biennale representative told ARTnews, “As a general premise, La Biennale di Venezia does not decide on national participation; countries themselves choose whether to take part.”Russia is not the only country drawing controversy at Venice. Earlier this week, the activist group Art Not Genocide Alliance published another open letter demanding that the biennale block Israel from participating in this year’s exhibition. The letter has been signed by nearly 200 artists, curators, and arts workers associated with this year’s edition of the biennale.Among the signatories to the letter are curators Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo and Rasha Salti, two members of the team tasked with realizing the vision of the late curator Koyo Kouoh. Kouoh died last May just months after being announced as the curator of the 2026 Venice Biennale. There are also dozens of artists included in the main exhibition, “In Minor Keys,” who signed the letter, as well as artists or curators associated with the pavilions of Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, France, Peru, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and other countries. Twelve artists and curators from other pavilions have signed the letter anonymously, fearing “possible physical, political, or legal harms from signing publicly,” the letter explains.