Editing Openai/6874b524-4134-8013-b5e6-0601c853d841 (section)

==== With the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia entered a new phase: aggressive, wounded nationalism. All cultural materials were either with us or against us. ====

In the wake of the invasion:
* A major gala performance of Franka’s choreography was staged in Sevastopol, rebranded as “Swan of the Russian Soul.” The original choreography was softened, stylized, and saturated with Orthodox symbolism. The music was not Yakob’s.
* Israel’s name was invoked in a new school textbook as an example of “Soviet loyalty through art.” His Holocaust poetry remained banned.
* A VR exhibit of “Yakob in Wartime” debuted at the Museum of Russian Triumph in Sochi. Visitors wore headsets to experience “the terror and resolve of Soviet genius under siege.” The final image: a Russian flag rising behind a virtual symphony.