State Duma Deputy Yana Lantratova called on Russia’s Investigative Committee to conduct an inquiry into a parody performance mocking the assassination of the war propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky.
Tatarsky, the self-styled “war correspondent” whose real name is Maxim Fomin, was killed by a blast last Sunday, after one of the guests at his public reading in St. Petersburg handed him a plaster statuette filled with explosives.
The two standup comics, Garik Oganisyan and Alexander Dolgopolov, performed a skit, in which Dolgopolov handed a statuette to Oganisyan. The parody took place in a Berlin venue, and there was laughter in the room, according to the video footage.
Deputy Lantratova insists that “humor based in human tragedy is a crime,” and that “society must react” to incidents like this.
The Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin has ordered an inquiry into the performance and its possible criminal content.
Meduza survived 2024 thanks to its readers!
Let’s stick together for 2025.
The world is at a crossroads today, and quality journalism will help shape the decades to come. Real stories must be told at any cost. Please support Meduza by signing up for a recurring donation.