August 10, 2019

When Artists Get on Board with a Russian Protest


When Artists Get on Board with a Russian Protest
Yekaterinburg-based artist Tima Radya's 2012 installation "Stability."

The protests shaking Moscow over the past month began as a rather low-profile issue: authorities refused to register opposition candidates from different capital districts for the September elections to the Moscow Duma. The Moscow Duma is a rather sleepy place, where little news has ever been generated, and few Muscovites ever vote in these polls.

Until this year: though the Russian opposition failed to muster sufficient public support for national representation in parliament, many of the activists in Moscow have been quietly building public trust in small municipal posts. This year, those municipal representatives gathered signatures in support of their candidacies for the Moscow Duma. But then those signatures were rejected (ostensibly because they were "fake," though authorities refused to consider evidence to the contrary), and a feeling of injustice pushed opposition supporters out onto the streets for weekly demos, even when the protests were not sanctioned. Police arrested thousands and investigators launched a sweeping probe into "mass riots," though no damage to property was reported. 

Images of central Moscow overrun by "cosmonauts" as the fully-equipped OMON riot police officers are informally called, have inspired artists, some of whom are joining the protests. Here are some works of art about Russian police and the multitude of feelings they elicit from the creative community.

Grapes of Wrath, a work by Vadim Sloof, an artist based in Rostov-on-Don

 

A song about OMON by rocker Andrei Makarevich of Mashina Vremeni

Скажи мне, архангел, ОМОНа атлант,
Закованный в латы, как звездный десант,
До ужаса вооружённый,
Зачем ты такой наряжённый? 

 

Credit: @Иван Алексеев
Rapper Noize MC with a track about Lyokha, whose dream about becoming an OMON cosmonaut came true

Лёха в детском саду мечтал стать космонавтом
В камуфляжном скафандре — со щитом, автоматом, 
Дубинкой — и бить гуманоидов.

"Kiss"
Artist Philippenzo's new homage to OMON police (above) calls on people not to have fear: "In our country an abnormal situation has formed when law enforcement agencies meant to fight threats often become the source of these threats. The appearance of a policeman in the line of vision of a law-abiding peaceful citizen brings the feelings of worry and danger, a desire to look elsewhere and avoid any contact. After all, this contact does not mean anything good – baseless document checks, demeaning searches, meaningless bans, beatings, detentions at peaceful rallies, planted drugs, torture, and other violations of civic rights."

 

St. Petersburg-based Rodina collective, which has long played around with the OMON logos in various projects, is offering T-shirts ahead of the protests.

All of these works have continued a long Russian tradition of using the repressive arm of the Russian government for inspiration. Here are a few other works from the past.

Yekaterinburg-based artist Tima Radya's 2012 installation "Stability"

This poster by Misha Marker uses the aesthetics of the Russian police uniform but asks "Are you daydreaming?"

 

An unknown artist's stencil in Chelyabinsk refers to the practice of policemen planting drugs, allegedly used widely to "close" drug trafficking cases.

 

A street sign by artist Slava PTRK in St. Petersburg

 

Finally, Telegram users can create their own works of art by messaging a bot which decorates any photo with rows of "cosmonauts." Here are a couple I created with the @FreeOMON bot, showing riot police marching in a snowy landscape, and admiring the impressively neat rows of pelmeni sold at a kiosk not far from my house.

 

 

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955