Pussy Riot protest at Venice Biennale forces Russian pavilion to briefly close

Demonstrators, angered by Russia’s inclusion at arts festival, shouted ‘Curated by Putin, dead bodies included’

Lanre Bakare in Venice

The Guardian: 6 May 2026

The Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale was forced temporarily to shut its doors on the second day of the preview after the activist group Pussy Riot staged a chaotic protest against the country’s inclusion in the art festival.

Wearing pink balaclavas, the protesters ran towards the Russian pavilion where they gathered outside and lit pink, blue and yellow flares while playing punk music and shouting slogans, including “Blood is Russia’s Art”.

At one stage the group of about 40 activists, including members of the feminist activist group Femen, attempted to enter the Russian pavilion but were pushed back by police, who lined the entrance.

Some members had slogans, such as “Curated by Putin, dead bodies included”, “Russia kills, biennale exhibits” and “Russian art, Ukrainian blood” written on their bodies. A statue outside the pavilion was wrapped in a Ukrainian flag.

In a press statement Pussy Riot offered to curate the 2028 Russian pavilion, pledging to use work by artists who are or have been imprisoned in Russian correctional facilities.

No one was arrested during the protest, which drew a large crowd of onlookers, many of whom were bewildered visitors who had just made it into the event after standing in long queues, which snaked out of the festival site.

There has been a tense buildup to the biennale, with politics often overshadowing the art on display.

Before the event, the jury – which selects the winner of the Golden Lion prizes – resigned en masse after stating they would not consider entries from countries whose leaders were subject to international arrest warrants (which would have barred them from including Russia and Israel).

An hour after the Pussy Riot protest, the Art Not Genocide Alliance (Anga) staged a demonstration outside the Israeli pavilion in the Arsenale. The pavilion was locked from the inside while the group gathered in front of its doors to protest against Israel’s inclusion over its war in Gaza.

More than 200 participants in the event have signed a letter demanding the cancellation of the Israeli pavilion, billed as “a collective refusal to allow you to platform the Israeli state as it commits genocide”.

Always been attracted to that name ..

for some reason !

naked women.

something we can all agree on at last.

naked women.

something we can all agree on at last.

Go Pussies!

Excellent work. Shame those Russian and Israeli murderers.

I reckon the Pussies next stop will be Eurovision.

Jam out with your clam out.