Activist expelled from university over ‘crucifixion’ protest outside FSB building in Moscow

The disciplinary commission at People’s Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) has decided to expel activist Pavel Krisevich from its Economics Faculty over a performance protest he staged outside of the Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters in Moscow’s Lubyanka Square.

“The student council and the disciplinary commission voted for the expulsion, the documents are being submitted to the university administration. The rector will issue a verdict,” Krisevich told MBX Media. 

Asked about the reason for his expulsion, Krisevich said that according to the commission, he “does not reflect the character of a student,” is “offensive,” and “fights against the authorities.”

On November 5, Pavel Krisevich conducted a performance protest in support of political prisoners outside of the FSB headquarters in Moscow. During the protest, Krisevich was tied to a cross, replicating the image of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, while four other activists in coats labeled “FSB” set fire to “criminal case files” at his feet. The day after the protest, he was sentenced to 15 days administrative arrest for disobeying police officers.

The document on imposing a disciplinary sanction, which is at the disposal of MBX Media, states that Krisevich, a student in the Economics Faculty, “disobeyed a lawful order from police officers” and, in particular, “stood naked on a stool, wrapped in a white cloth with spots of red paint around his waist, while his hands were tied to a prefabricated structure in the shape of a cross, around which paper burned.”