President Gitanas Nauseda signed a decree removing Russian conductor Yuri Bashmet from the list of those awarded the Order of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas, 4th degree.
As stated in the decree signed by the head of state, J. Bashmet has degraded the title of the awardee, and therefore is currently obliged to return the order and award documents he received in June 1999.
J. Bašmetas was awarded the Order for the promotion of Lithuanian musical culture and contribution to the treasury of world music by President Valdas Adamkus.
ELTA reminds that in March 2014, J. Bashmets was also stripped of the title of honorary professor of the Lviv National Academy of Music.
Such a decision in Ukraine The academic council of the academy in 2018 adopted a letter signed by Russian cultural figures, which supported Russian President Vladimir Putin's position on the annexation of Crimea.
As previously reported by foreign media, this musician is a staunch supporter of Russia's aggressive domestic and foreign policies. He has publicly supported the war in Chechnya launched by V. Putin, approved the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and the military aggression against Ukraine launched in 2022.
Raminta Majauskaitė (ELTA)
