The International Movement Arts Against Aggression is a global network of artists, cultural workers, scholars, activists, and institutions advocating for ethical responsibility in the cultural sphere and opposing the use of art and culture to legitimize aggression, authoritarianism, and imperial domination.

Since 2014, Arts Against Aggression has opposed Russian cultural propaganda in the U.S. and Europe, helping block Kremlin-linked artists from performing in the West. We have worked successfully with U.S. art institutions—including the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Regattabar Jazz Club in Boston, the Blue Llama in Ann Arbor, the Promontory in Chicago, and many others—to prevent performers connected to the Putin regime from appearing in the United States.

We were therefore deeply troubled to learn that U.S. jazz artists Allan Harris, Camille Thurman, and Tierney Sutton are scheduled to perform at the Moscow Jazz Festival (June 6–14, 2026 https://www.instagram.com/p/DYm2vRTKCFg/) – an event funded by sanctioned Russian state entities (Gazprom, Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives) and directed by internationally sanctioned Kremlin loyalist Igor Butman. 

We urge you, as presenters who have booked these artists, to cancel their upcoming appearances at your venue and to reevaluate any business association with Pat Harris, who continues to represent Igor Butman and receives compensation that, by virtue of the festival’s and other business transactions’ state sponsorship, originates with sanctioned Russian entities.

We are circulating this open letter among members of the U.S. and European press to raise awareness of these concerns. We are also preparing a letter to the U.S. State Department regarding the repeated participation of U.S. arts professionals in events funded by sanctioned Russian institutions, so that potential violations of U.S. sanctions can be investigated. . 

The Legal Concern

Under U.S. sanctions law – including Executive Order 14024 and OFAC regulations – U.S. persons are broadly prohibited from engaging in financial transactions or providing professional services (such as management or music performance services) involving sanctioned or state-linked Russian entities.  The Moscow Jazz Festival is executive-sponsored by Gazprom, which is subject to U.S. sanctions, and by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives (PFCI), a Russian state instrumentality. These restrictions extend to transactions that directly or indirectly benefit the Russian government. This means that even where a specific sponsor is not explicitly named on a sanctions list, participation in an event underwritten by Russian state entities may still violate U.S. sanctions law. The receipt of performance fees or other compensation connected to these sponsors therefore raises substantial potential legal concerns under U.S. sanctions and OFAC compliance frameworks.

Notably, none of the three artists list these Moscow engagements on their official websites, social media, or newsletters – while actively promoting all other performances. This suggests an awareness of the ethical, reputational, and legal risks involved.

The Ethical Concern

Despite being portrayed as a neutral cultural exchange, the Moscow Jazz Festival is a state-aligned prestige project. It is produced by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives and directed by Igor Butman – a senior member of Putin’s United Russia party, a largely unremarkable saxophonist whose profile has mainly been elevated through his affiliation with Putin’s political patronage. Butman is personally sanctioned by Ukraine, Latvia, and Canada for supporting Russian aggression and has received multiple high state honors from Putin, including the State Prize of the Russian Federation and the title “People’s Artist of Russia.” In 2015, Butman performed at a jazz festival in Russian-occupied Crimea despite a direct warning from the U.S. State Department that doing so would violate U.S. territorial sanctions. U.S. jazz clubs have previously canceled his appearances due to his pro-Kremlin positions.

By performing at the Moscow Jazz Festival, U.S. artists lend international legitimacy to a Russian state propaganda project – one explicitly designed to project normalcy and cultural openness while Russia continues killing Ukrainian civilians and systematically destroying Ukrainian cultural and civilian institutions. To date, more than 2,500 Ukrainian cultural sites have been damaged or destroyed. Major Ukrainian jazz festivals – including Leopolis Jazz Fest and Jazz on Dnipro, which previously presented artists such as Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, and Chick Corea – have been decimated, and numerous Ukrainian jazz musicians have been killed. U.S. artists’ presence on a Moscow stage, underwritten by the very state funds financing this destruction, is not a political abstraction: it is a concrete service to the Kremlin’s effort to convince the world that business as usual is acceptable while the bombs fall.

The Case of Allan Harris and Pat Harris

Among the three artists, Allan Harris and Pat Harris warrant particular attention. Alan Harris has participated in the Moscow Jazz Festival for several years despite escalating Russian aggression and expanding U.S. sanctions – initially concealing his participation, acknowledging it only after receiving criticism in the European press. Furthermore, Pat Harris, Alan’s manager, is listed on Igor Butman‘s website as Butman’s current booking agent (https://en.igorbutman.com/contacts/), while Allan Harris is listed as a client of Butman’s Russia-based JAZZ’T MUSIC AGENCY  (http://jazzt.ru/aharris.html). U.S. sanctions broadly prohibit the provision of management and professional services to persons located in Russia, making this ongoing business relationship a matter of serious legal and ethical concern.

Our Demand

We urge you to cancel appearances by Allan Harris, Camille Thurman, and Tierney Sutton at your venues, and to cease professional dealings with Pat Harris. 

Precedent: Consequences Have Followed

Our demand is not without precedent. Following appearances at the Moscow Jazz Festival, Avishai Cohen had performances canceled by festivals in Warsaw, Brussels, and Salzburg in solidarity with Ukraine. Richard Bona faced significant backlash and the termination of his association with Leopolis Jazz Fest. Allan Harris himself has received criticism in the European press for prior appearances there. International presenters are increasingly drawing this line – and facing consequences for failing to do so.

In Conclusion

This letter is being written in the aftermath of yet another devastating wave of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Over the past weekend alone, at least four people were killed and 80 to 100 wounded in Kyiv and the surrounding region. Among the targets were residential buildings, schools, and major cultural institutions, including the National Art Museum of Ukraine, the National Museum “Chernobyl,” the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, the National Library of Ukraine, and the Kyiv Opera.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, more than 2,500 Ukrainian cultural sites have been damaged or destroyed. Stages where Ukrainian musicians once performed now lie in ruins. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture, Russian forces have also killed 349 artists and 137 Ukrainian and international media workers.

This is the regime whose cultural apparatus U.S. artists are being paid to legitimize. At a moment when Ukrainian civilians and Ukraine’s cultural sector are being bombed into silence, silence and normalization on the part of the U.S. jazz industry are not neutral acts. We urge you to act accordingly.

— Arts Against Aggression