Ukraine is calling for a boycott of 'The Nutcracker.' Ballet companies aren't budging

Ukraine's culture minister is calling on the nation's Western allies to temporarily boycott Russian artists and composers.

In a Wednesday opinion column for The Guardian, Oleksandr Tkachenko writes that Russian President Vladimir Putin sees Russian culture as "a tool and even a weapon" to attack liberal values and advance his own agenda.

Tkachenko says Ukraine's allies can fight back by rejecting Russian artists — and not just those who confirm they support the totalitarian regime that's waged nearly 10 months of violence against its neighboring state.

"We're not talking about canceling...