Russian pavilion shut out of Edmonton Heritage Festival due to safety concerns, threats

Organizers of next month's Edmonton Heritage Festival have decided there will be no Russian pavilion this year, citing safety concerns, threats and objections from the city's Ukrainian community.

"As much as we do our best to stay out of the politics that are reflected in the countries that represent the cultures that make up our festival, conflicts do exist and can escalate to the point where they cannot be ignored," the association said in a public statement Friday.

"Despite our confidence in our ability to put on a safe festival, we recognize that if the Russian pavilion were to  participate in the festival this year there is a real potential for incidents and potential safety risk." 

Ukrainian organizations and community members had urged the association to bar the Russian pavilion because of Russia's war in Ukraine. 

The association tried to find a solution through a consultative process, which led to a meeting last week with representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian pavilions.

"It became very clear to the EHFA that it was not possible for the two pavilions to come up with a solution together despite best efforts," the association said. 

Safety concerns have also been raised. The association said it has "received several threats" demanding that the EHFA not allow the Russian pavilion to participate. 

After consulting with the Edmonton Police Service, the association said allowing the Russian pavilion would have required additional security to mitigate the risk of incidents threatening the safety of people at the festival. 

Last year, Russia pavilion organizers voluntarily decided not to run a pavilion at the festival but Ukrainian community members are concerned that this year, the pavilion could return. 

"We are the community that is in pain," Natalia Pociurko, president of the Friends of the Ukrainian Heritage Pavilion Society, said in an interview Friday.

"We're grieving every day ... We're definitely not a threat. So that's why I was a little bit surprised by [the association's] statement."

But Pociurko said the decision needed to be taken to help the community heal.

"Russia is waging a brutal war on Ukraine and although we know not all Russians support Russia's war on Ukraine, we feel that it would be appropriate for the Edmonton Heritage Festival to not support the Russian pavilion this year," Orysia Boychuk, president of the Alberta Provincial Council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, told CBC News in May.

CBC has requested additional comment from the organizers of both the Russian and Ukrainian pavilions.