Are nesting dolls and kokoshnik headdresses even Russian? A former Pushkin Museum director’s answer just got her reported to prosecutors.

On June 18, Elizaveta Likhacheva, an art historian and former director of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, sat down with YouTuber Pavel Kostin for an interview that focused mainly on education and child-rearing — but it was her remarks on Russian culture and identity that drew the most attention.

“Why distance ourselves from Western culture?

I don’t understand it,” she told Kostin.

“Russia is part of a great civilization.

For us, this may be our last chance to reckon with that question.” ...