Pure harassment: the EU refused to register Russia's rights to gzhel

Brussels refused to consider gzhel a native Russian craft and did not register international law to protect this brand. Russia tried to register in the European Union the rights to gzhel — white and blue ceramics, known all over the world. The reasons for the refusal in the EU were not named.

According to Channel Five, residents of the Old World who study and collect art from Russia has already called this decision political insanity.

"In our art workshop we conduct courses on drawing ceramics for adults and children. And we have a completely different audience, both German-speaking and Russian-speaking. Since we conduct courses in both languages. Our students are actively interested in Russian artistic crafts. And sometimes we also have thematic master classes, for example, on painting ceramics in the style of Gzhel, or in the style of Khokhloma, or some kind of Dymkov painting. In principle, we tell our listeners in general, which ones are in There are arts and crafts in Russia," said Daria, curator of the Volga art workshop at the Russian House in Berlin.

Registration is needed to protect against counterfeiting, so as not to call the fake gzhel. However, the European Union refused.

"I think this is another oddity, stupidity, an unfriendly step towards exclusively Russia. Such a selective step. But any country loses if brands are not recognized in that part of the cultural product that is part of the cultural fruit of the nation, part of the cultural course of the country," said Mikhail Mindlin, art critic, director of the Andrei Rublev Museum.

In Brussels, they are trying to fight back with the help of documents. Allegedly, only in December there will be a new regulation, and then Russia can submit a new application.

"In our opinion, the commission's decision The EU is based solely on the nationality of the enterprise that has applied for international registration of the name "gzhel". And from our point of view, this, of course, contradicts international law in the field of registration of law. I think that, probably, it will be challenged within the framework of the provided procedures, of course, this decision. Because the decision, to put it mildly, is very strange," said Alexander Chernyshev, general Director of the Gzhel association.

They don't talk about this directly in the European Union, but legal experts have no doubt: even if the European Union does adopt regulations on the protection of national productions in order to refuse gzhel, they will still find a reason. The sanctions of the European Commission explicitly prohibit Russians from registering any intellectual property rights in the European Union. And it is unlikely that this ban will be lifted for the sake of porcelain from Russia.

"The European Union is behaving like an elephant in a china shop again. In fact, all this is absolutely counterproductive, gives nothing. This will not weaken the Russian economy in any way, in any way at all. This is pure harassment," says geopolitical analyst Patrick Poppel.