Canada has included Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, on its list of Russian cultural figures subject to sanctions for supporting the invasion of Ukraine.

Besides Ukraine, Canada is the first country to impose sanctions on Piotrovsky, who has been a prominent Russian cultural voice supporting the Russian war in Ukraine.

The amendment to Canada's Special Economic Measures Act, published in the Canadian Gazette, states: "Russia is using its cultural celebrities to promote Kremlin propaganda regarding the invasion of Ukraine. Russia is systematically destroying Ukrainian culture as part of its ongoing violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Since last June, Piotrovsky has described the Hermitage exhibitions abroad as a "strong cultural assault" that can be compared to the "special operation," the term used by the Kremlin to refer to the war in Ukraine—he referred to the war as a "means of cultural exchange."
Canada, which has a large Ukrainian community, has been a major participant in international sanctions against Russian individuals and entities following the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

The cultural list includes Olga Lyubimova, the Russian Minister of Culture, who was the first to hold the position of Minister of Culture in Russia. The UK imposed sanctions on Lyubimova in July.

Others included in the new Canadian list are Oscar-winning filmmaker Yaroslav Dronov, rock singer known as Shaman, and Alla Manilova, the former Deputy Minister of Culture who was appointed director of the Russian State Museum in April.