UCC Toronto condemns Russian-themed musical

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) Toronto is speaking out against the staging of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, a musical based on a novel by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.

The production is being presented by Mirvish Productions, one of Canada’s most prominent theatrical companies.

In a public statement, UCC Toronto condemned the decision to showcase a production that draws on narratives that glorify Tsarist Russia — especially as Ukraine continues to fight for its survival in the face of a full-scale Russian invasion.

“At a time when Russia wages a genocidal war against Ukraine, it’s unacceptable to romanticize its colonial past on Canadian stages,” the statement reads.

The nonprofit advocacy organization pointed out that the war is not an abstract concept, but a daily reality for millions of Ukrainians. 

“Russia is currently bombing peaceful Ukrainian cities — Kyiv included — daily. Thousands of civilians have been killed. Families have been torn apart. Cultural institutions and landmarks are being deliberately targeted and erased,” UCC Toronto said.

They also criticized Canadian institutions for promoting harmful narratives, and called on Mirvish Productions to reconsider its decision and instead use its platform to support voices of resistance, freedom, and cultures that are under threat.

“It is especially painful considering the roots of the Mirvish family in Kyiv, a city that is now fighting for its survival. The people of Kyiv, and of all Ukraine, deserve solidarity — not cultural programming that sanitizes or celebrates the very ideology and identity that seeks to destroy them,” the statement reads.

UCC Toronto said that culture is never neutral — especially when it is used to sanitize or legitimize aggression.