Orthodox activists report Little Big leader Ilya Prusikin for skateboarding on crucifix

Orthodox Christian activists from the radical Sorok Sorokov movement have reported Ilya Prusikin, leader of the Little Big rave band, for a “blasphemous” Instagram video, in which Prusikin, dressed as a Catholic priest, skateboards on top of a crucifix.

Prusikin published the video on January 7 — Christmas Day for the Orthodox Christians.

According to his lawyer, Georgy Soldatov, Sorok Sorokov appealed to the federal Investigative Committee following Prusikin’s Christmas publication, calling it a “cynical blasphemy” and requesting a review of the video as possible grounds for felony charges.

Russian law criminalizes offenses against “religious feeling.” In the event his client is charged with a felony, Soldatov says, it’ll be harder for him to return to Russia. Prusikin left the country for reasons that had to do with the invasion of Ukraine.

“Sorok Sorokov” translates as “Forty Forties,” a reference to the early travelers’ reports of Moscow’s numerous churches. The radical Orthodox movement was founded in 2013. Its activists have protested the Body Worlds exhibition in Moscow, the release of “Mathilde” (a film about Nicholas II and his affair with the ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska), and the introduction of vaccination QR codes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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