Coventry cuts twin city ties with Volgograd in protest of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

After being the first twin city pairing to exist after World War II in Britain, Coventry city council has decided to cut the 80-year long tie with the city of Volgograd in protest of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

The council are also hoping to look to find potential ties with the city of Mariupol in Ukraine instead in response to the current conflict 

In the short term, the twinning of two different cities may not look like it has a major impact on the overall aspects of life for individuals living in those cities. However, twinning allows for a widespread sharing of culture that would not have been available if this union did not exist. 

In 1944 after World War II, Coventry and Volgograd, previously known as Stalingrad, decided to form links with one another after both were heavily bombed during that time. Thousands more twin cities have appeared after this union with the U.K. having over 2000 relationships around Europe.

This is why the twinning between Coventry and the Russian city of Volgograd was so important, and how the separation of this twinning sends a strong statement in the current climate between Russia and Ukraine.

Initially, Coventry City Council had announced that they would be keeping ties with Volgograd in order to keep an open dialogue and peace with Russia. And even the Bishop of Coventry, the Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cockswork believed that the relationship between Volgograd and Russia would help bring attention to how serious the conflict was.

However, the Association of Ukrainians in Britain argued against the council’s decision as they believed that the relationship should be suspended as it would make a strong political statement to Russia. It would also “send a message” to Russia.

On Tuesday 22nd of March, The counsellors voted unanimously to suspend their relationship with Volgograd until they deemed it reasonable to resume it. This also meant that Coventry City had to suspend their joint art project with Volgograd titled the ‘Volgograd digital tablecloth’ which had been in the making since 2019.