A Moscow exhibition titled “The Sculptures We Do Not See” has been attacked for the second time in two weeks. According to the press office of the exhibition center Manege, on the evening of August 26, a man and a woman ripped down one of the artworks and yelled that the entire exhibition will also be destroyed in a “pogrom.”
The work that was torn down was a linoleum print by Vadim Sidur, a Soviet avant-garde artist known for his art from the 1950s and 1960s. Four of his linoleum prints from the same series (titled “101”) were damaged in the last attack, which took place on August 14 and was led by Orthodox Christian activists.
The man and the woman responsible for the latest act of vandalism have been detained by police and are being held at a police station for questioning.
The head of the movement “God’s Will” Dmitry Enteo [who led the previous attack] has already announced that he is not party to the second attack on the modern art exhibition at the Manege exhibition hall.
The exhibition “The Sculptures We Do Not See” is dedicated to Soviet formalism of the 1950s and 1960s. It features sculptures by Vadim Sidur, Nikolai Silis, and Vladimir Lemport, and others. These works had been censored during the Soviet era for ideological reasons. The exhibition is on display at the Central exhibition hall Manege in central Moscow from August 14 to September 6.
Four linoleum prints from the series “101” by Vadim Sidur were damaged in the attack staged by Orthodox Christian activists on August 14. The activists, who belong to the group “God’s Will,” barged into the exhibition and announced that the works on display are offensive to religious people. They subsequently damaged several of the display pieces.
“God’s Will” is an ultra-conservative, right-wing movement led by Dmitry “Enteo” Tsorionov, who is known for his attacks on high-profile cultural events.
After the first attack, State Duma deputy Yaroslav Nilov, head of the parliamentary committee on NGOs and religious organizations, asked the Attorney General to launch an investigation into the actions of both the Orthodox Christian attackers and into the exhibition organizers. Nilov said he denounces “the actions of these so-called Orthodox activists who violated the law and damaged the reputation of the Russian Orthodox Church," but also added that some of the exhibited works may indeed be offensive to the feelings of religious people. According to Nilov, “some of the exhibited works may be controversial, as they picture famous biblical scenes in a grotesque and even caricature-like manner.”
Several federal laws criminalizing offenses towards religious feelings have been passed in Russia since 2013. On June 30, 2013, a law was passed to counteract offenses against citizens’ religious convictions and feelings, and against the desecration of facilities and items of religious veneration. The law came into effect despite opposition from the Supreme Court of Russia and from the Presidential Council on Human Rights.
Vladimir Legoida, the spokesperson of Moscow’s Orthodox Church, responded to the August 14 incident by writing on Facebook that Vadim Sidur is "an artist acclaimed around the world."