[tejohnso]

According to the tweet, it was cancelled "because he’s a Russian writer". It doesn't matter what happened after that. If an academic institution steps in and cancels something because of someone's nationality, especially while following a herd of similar behaviour, that's pure cancel culture in action.

Maybe the term hasn't caught on in Italy but it sounds to me like the actual behaviour has.

Aside from the cancel culture term, I'd go even further and be clear. It's pure Russophobia, and it's no better than Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, etc.