Malta’s national orchestra will not be severing ties with a Russian-Armenian benefactor who has pumped millions into promoting it and sponsoring trips to Russia, American and Europe.
Times of Malta had flagged in 2020 how a foundation presided over by Russian-Armenian Konstantin Ishkhanov built strong links of influence among Maltese officials, as part of a €12 million splurge of organising music events in Malta and abroad.
Contacted by Times of Malta in light of the increased Western crackdown on Russian influence abroad, Malta orchestra CEO Sigmund Mifsud said the orchestra does not have any collaborations with Russian entities.
Mifsud said the European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) is registered in Malta, and its president, a reference to Ishkhanov, is an Armenian national. Ishkhanov, who has also acted as vice president of the Maltese-Russian Friendship Foundation, is listed as a Russian national in official documentation.
Furthermore, the EUFSC’s registered office used to be based at the Russian Cultural Centre. The centre is one of a sprawling network of 97 offices dotted around the world and run by Rossotrudnichestvo, a cultural exchange agency set up by a Russian presidential decree in 2008. The European Council on Foreign Relations, a pan-European think tank, had warned how Russian intelligence bodies often work with the agency to increase Russia’s influence in European countries and covertly infiltrate societies there.
Culture Minister José Herrera had put a halt to the orchestra’s collaboration with the foundation in March 2020, after Times of Malta raised questions about the source of the foundation’s funding and its links to Rossotrudnichestvo. However, seven months later, Herrera gave the orchestra the all-clear to continue working with the foundation.
Herrera’s ministry had said a due diligence report had given the foundation a clean bill of health. The due diligence report was never published, despite a request by Times of Malta to be given a copy.
The orchestra has gone on tours of Europe, America and Moscow funded by the foundation, including a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Ishkhanov is a graduate of the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas. He first appeared on the local cultural scene in 2012, after moving to Malta. His generous financial backing of the arts scene was rewarded with an honorary award by the Malta Arts Council for his “exceptional contribution” to the cultural life of Malta.