Mock Putin grave installed near St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg

A gravestone inscribed with Vladimir Putin’s name and portrait above the words “He betrayed the Russian people” has appeared on a lawn near St. Petersburg’s historic St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Similar graves had previously appeared in Naberezhnye Chelny as an act of protest against the Russian government’s attempts to isolate Russian Internet traffic.

Two people were placed under house arrest after pictures of the “graves” in Naberezhnye Chelny circulated on social media, and the social network VKontakte’s attempts to delete the photographs sparked widespread controversy. The social network’s employees said they feared the images were confusing to users but later restored them to public view.

Photographer David Frenkel uploaded an image of the newest mock grave on Twitter, writing, “A gravestone for Putin like the ones whose photos were deleted from [VKontakte] has appeared in Petersburg.”

The Agit Rossiya group took credit for the stunt, writing on Telegram that “Petersburg has taken up the baton.”