Outrage over Holocaust-themed ice skating routine
Wife of Vladimir Putin's aide dons striped uniform and yellow Star of David for routine on Russian version of Dancing on Ice
A Holocaust-themed ice-skating routine on Russian TV has caused outrage worldwide.
The dance, which was shown on Ice Age, the country's version of Dancing on Ice, featured a couple dressed in the striped suits of concentration camp prisoners and sporting yellow Star of David patches, which Jews were to wear in Nazi Germany.
It starred former Olympic ice skater Tatiana Navka, who is married to President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Pesko, and actor Andrei Burkovsky.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At the end of the dance, there was the sound of Burkovsky being "shot" offstage while a sad-looking Navka stood alone on the ice.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"104233","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
Navka claimed she based the routine on the Italian Holocaust film Life is Beautiful, which won two Oscars for its writer/director/star Roberto Benigni.
Posting images of the dance on Instagram, the skater said: "One of my favourite numbers! Inspired by one of my favourite films, Life is Beautiful! You must show your children this film.
"Our children must know and remember about such terrible times that I hope, by the grace of God, they will never experience."
Benigni's film was criticised on its release for turning the Holocaust into a comedy, although many commentators agreed it treated the subject matter with sufficient respect, despite its humour.
However, social media commentators in Russia called Navka's adaptation "sick" and "mad", says the Daily Telegraph.
One wrote: "The Nazi regime separated families, put them in concentration camps, killed them in gas chambers… you make a nice happy smiling dance out of it? Are [you] mad?" Another added: "Words cannot express how sick this is."
Nor has the routine gone down well internationally. US comedian Sarah Silverman tweeted her amazement:
Jeremy Jones, of Australia's Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, told CNN the act was "unbelievably tasteless".
He said: "The lack of thought that would have to go into making that decision is almost mind-blowing… Long after they're forgotten as ice skaters they'll be remember as people who sank to such depths to get some celebrity."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 22, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - dystopian laughs, WNBA salaries, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published