Sculpture “Big Mother”

The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against the rehabilitation of Nazism and the desecration of the symbols of the military glory of Russia (part 3 of article 354.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) in connection with the display of the statue ” Recently, a scandal at the exhibition “Art-Moscow” in Gostiny Dvor Grandmother of the performance artist Oleg Kulik, who has become the center of attention.

In Kulik’s work, they saw a parody of the famous monument by Yevgeny Vuchetich “Fatherland Calls” in Volgograd. The Artgid publication and journalist Anna Mongait reported on their Telegram channels that a criminal case was opened against the artist himself. Art critic and journalist Ksenia Korobeynikova confirmed to the RTVI channel that Oleg Kulik was summoned for questioning by the Investigative Committee, but it was noted that his procedural status is still unknown.

Punishment under Article includes, inter alia, a fine of up to three million rubles or a penalty of up to three years of forced labor or imprisonment of up to three years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions.

Earlier, Deputy Alexander Khinshtein and Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Culture Elena Yampolskaya made a request to the prosecutor’s office and the Investigative Committee to open a criminal case. Aleksey Pushkov, head of the Federation Council’s commission on information policy and media interaction, and writer Zakhar Prilepin also called for appropriate checks.

The “Big Mom” ​​statue was created in 2018 and, according to the author, had no political overtones. It was shown in the exhibition on behalf of the Frolov Gallery. “Art-Moscow” was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Culture Department of the City of Moscow. Gallery owner Vladimir Frolov also said that a smaller Kulik sculpture was originally planned to be shown, but the author felt it would “get lost” in Gostiny Dvor’s space and suggested that others choose from among them. According to Frolov, the organizers of “Art-Moscow” chose “Big Mom”.

Oleg Kulik and the statue “Big Mother”