'Enjoy the show. Ignore the war': Venice Biennale faces backlash after including Russia

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Ignore the war': Venice Biennale faces backlash after including Russia17 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleSarah RainsfordSouthern and Eastern Europe correspondent, VeniceBBCPussy Riot and FEMEN have protested at this year's Vennice Biennale over Russia's return to the arts fairThe Russian punk protest group Pussy Riot and Femen, founded in Ukraine, have staged a striking joint protest at this year's Venice Biennale, as Russia returns to the prestigious arts fair for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The activists swarmed through the gardens of the Biennale – often described as the 'Olympics' of the arts – to yell their protest outside the Russian national pavilion, dressed all in black but for their fluorescent pink balaclavas. As security guards rushed to close the glass doors, the protesters set off smoke flares and punched the air with screams of "Russia kills!

One poster declared: "Curated by Putin, dead bodies included. ""They're drinking vodka and champagne in their pavilion, soaked in the blood of Ukrainian children," Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova told me, arguing that Russia's push to be back at the high-profile event was part of its hybrid warfare. "It's not just tanks and drones, murder and rape in Ukraine.

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It's also culture, art, language…it's the way tries to conquer the West and you guys just opened the doors to them. "Protesters say Russia's push to be back at the event is part of its hybrid warfareThere has been concern over Russia's reinstatement ever since it was announced by Moscow earlier this year. The European Commission has "strongly condemned" the move and threatened to pull €2 million in funding for the Biennale.

It argues that "Allowing the aggressor, Russia, to shine" on such a platform is against ethical standards linked to the grant. Italy's own culture minister will not attend when the fair opens to the public on Saturday. But deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini – who famously visited Red Square in 2014 in a Putin T-shirt – refuses to join the boycott, arguing that "No pavilion should be excluded.

"One source in Brussels suggested the Commission was not impressed by Italy's response. The disquiet over the 61st Biennale goes beyond the return of Russia. Last week, the entire international jury resigned after a statement that referred to countries with leaders wanted by the ICC for suspected war crimes.

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It meant Russia and Israel. On Wednesday morning a separate group of protesters descended on the Israeli exhibit, leaving the floor outside carpeted with rain-sodden leaflets denouncing a "Genocide Pavilion". Israel's foreign ministry has previously criticised a "political jury" for making the Biennale a place of "anti-Israeli political indoctrination".

As the fuss has grown, the event's president has resisted requests for interviews. A right-wing former journalist, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, has spoken admiringly in the past of Vladimir Putin.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.