Rodney Mims Cook Jr., chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts, attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), known as the 'Russian Davos,' becoming the first US official to do so in nearly a decade. He participated in a roundtable titled 'Russia-USA: dialogue of cultures' moderated by Russian cultural envoy Mikhail Shvydkoy, who also coordinated Russia's participation in the 2024 Venice Biennale. Other attendees included actor Steven Seagal, State Hermitage Museum director Mikhail Piotrovsky, and Russian culture minister Olga Lyubimova, several of whom have been sanctioned by the EU for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Cook praised Putin and conveyed greetings from President Trump, while Ukrainian drones struck targets near St. Petersburg as the forum opened.
This matters because Cook's presence at a forum designed to attract foreign investment to Russia, amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, signals a potential normalization of cultural and diplomatic engagement with Russia by a US official. The roundtable's focus on cultural dialogue, involving figures responsible for Russia's Venice Biennale participation, raises questions about the politicization of art and international cultural exchange. The incident also highlights tensions between US cultural diplomacy and bipartisan criticism, as Senator Dick Durbin had previously questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio about US officials attending the forum.