"Putin's mercenary"

Ornella Muti: criticism over appearance in Russia

Lugner's former Opera Ball guest Ornella Muti is in the crossfire of criticism.

(Bild: APA/HANS PUNZ)

Italian actress Ornella Muti has come under fire in her home country for her closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 68-year-old took part in the inauguration of a large mural with her portrait, painted by Neapolitan artist Ciro Cerullo, on Wednesday evening in Sochi, Russia.

The painting by the street artist known as Jorit was unveiled in Sochi in the presence of the actress and Putin. It is located on the wall of a building in Khudyakov Street and was created as part of a street art festival in which 25 artists from eleven countries took part.

Grandmother from St. Petersburg
"When I thought about how I could bring Italy and Russia closer together, I thought of the great actress Ornella Muti," said Jorit, according to media reports. The actress, whose maternal grandmother came from St. Petersburg, is very popular in Russia and has been in the Russian capital Moscow in recent days to take part in fashion week, where her daughter Naike Rivelli walked the catwalk as a model.

Artist "mercenary of the dictator Putin"
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani was irritated by Jorit and Ornella Muti's appearance in Sochi. "Propaganda was the art of the KGB, disinformation was the art of the Soviet Union, and obviously there is still someone in Russia who uses this art. Italy is on the side of Ukraine. But that does not mean that we are at war with the Russian people. The Italian people are friends with the Russian people, but we do not want the Russian army to invade Ukraine," said Tajani.

The head of the cultural commission in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Federico Mollicone (Fratelli d'Italia), called Jorit and Muti "mercenaries and artists under the hat of the post-Soviet dictator Putin".

Muti recently emphasized that she hopes to obtain Russian citizenship.

Fraud proceedings over charity dinner with Putin
Her love of Russia has also caused problems for the actress. Because she canceled a theater performance in the small Friulian town of Pordenone in 2010 due to an alleged illness, but instead attended a charity dinner alongside Putin in St. Petersburg, Muti was charged with fraud.

She was sentenced to eight months in prison and a 600 euro fine. However, the actress did not have to serve the sentence and paid a fine of 30,000 euros. The fee for Muti's performance at the Verdi Theater in Pordenone is said to have been 25,000 euros.