Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, a long-time associate of President Vladimir Putin and current director of Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, is due to conduct an orchestral concert on 27 July at the Reggia di Caserta as part of the “Un’Estate da Re” festival financed by Italy’s Campania region. The appearance would be his first in Western Europe since he was dropped by major venues in 2022 for refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Yulia Navalnaya, widow of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, urged Italian authorities to cancel the engagement in an open letter published by La Repubblica on 15 July. She called Gergiev a “conscious and active accomplice” of the Kremlin and argued that allowing him to perform would help “normalise” Russia’s war and whitewash the regime she blames for her husband’s death. Navalnaya’s Anti-Corruption Foundation has formally asked the interior ministry to deny the maestro entry. Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli echoed the criticism, warning that the event risks becoming a “sounding board for Russian propaganda,” although he acknowledged that programming decisions rest with regional officials. Campania’s governor, Vincenzo De Luca, has rejected the appeals, saying cultural dialogue should remain open and noting that an Israeli conductor is also on the bill. The dispute has drawn commentary from cultural figures abroad, including Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb, who described Gergiev as “an artistic stand-in for Putin.” Italian opposition lawmakers and members of the ruling coalition have likewise pressed for the concert’s cancellation, turning the scheduled performance into a larger test of Europe’s stance toward artists openly aligned with the Kremlin.