For 20 years, Ovchinnikov was known for his street murals in the small town of Borovsk. Now he is using his art to criticise Russia's invasion of Ukraine — and it's drawing the attention of Russian authorities.
Vladimir Ovchinnikov has a reputation for his street murals depicting historical scenes and famous people.
The mural was painted over and Ovchinnikov was ordered to pay a 35,000 rouble fine for the new offence of "discrediting the Russian army", which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. In response, he painted a new piece, writing the word "bezumiye" , spelt with a Latin letter Z, which has become a symbol of what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine. The police promptly painted over it.Ovchinnikov paints a mural on a building near a board promoting volunteer military service in the Russian armed forces
It triggered a game of cat and mouse between Ovchinnikov and police in Borovsk, a town of 12,000 people In place of the painted-over mural, he drew the words "pozor" , "fiasco", and "basta" , each with a Latin Z. Each in turn was painted over by the police.For Ovchinnikov, opposition to the conflict in Ukraine is underpinned by a family history of Soviet-era repression. His grandfather was shot by Lenin's Bolsheviks in 1919 and his father was arrested during Stalin's purges in 1937.
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