Russian art exhibitors convicted of blasphemy

A Russian court has found organizers of a 2006 Moscow art exhibition guilty of blasphemy and fined them for offending the religious sensibilities of the Russian Orthodox Church and related groups.

In 2006, art expert Andrei Yerofeyev and the museum’s then-director Yuri Samodurov organized the “Forbidden Art 2006″ exhibition at Sakharov Museum in Moscow in an effort to combat censorship of the arts. Among the artworks displayed were a painting of Jesus Christ with the head of Mickey Mouse, and another where his head was replaced with the Order of Lenin medal. Another filled a religious icon with caviar.

A complaint was filed by Orthodox group Council of the People. Spokesman Oleg Kassin expressed his support for government censorship with his comments. “If you like expressing yourself freely, do it at home, invite some close friends, said Kassin. “But from the moment that such an exhibition takes place in a public space, and especially if it contains insults, it’s no longer art but a provocation.”

This particular “provocation” included specific warnings of the nature of the works, the placement of temporary walls through which the works had to be viewed, the prohibition of photography, and a notice that the works were not appropriate for those under 16 years of age.

Only one witness for the prosecution in the 2009 trial had viewed the exhibit at all, stating he had “glanced” at it. The remaining witnesses for the prosecution insisted that it incited hatred, without having viewed the exhibit themselves.

An expert witness for the prosecution attempted to set forth a definition of art which would, in his opinion, exclude the works displayed. He declared them “not anywhere close to art … as art is by definition about the cultivation of spiritual values and the concept of beauty, not about its destruction.”

Amnesty International organized a letter-writing campaign to Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev requesting the trial be stopped; however, the effort was not successful. The men faced up to three years’ imprisonment. The trial continued and they were both convicted; Samudurov was fined 200,000 rubel ($6,500) and Yerofeyev 150,000 rubel ($4,870).

As Amnesty International points out in its proposed letter text, such a trial violates the Russian Constitution:

I am concerned that in bringing charges against both men and putting them on trial for organizing an art exhibition, their right to freedom of expression, as enshrined in international law and the Russian Constitution, is being compromised. Art is a form of communication and of expressing views. It can provoke or please and often has more than one meaning. Freedom of art is an integral part of freedom of expression, limitations to which are set forth in international law. Neither Russian, nor international human rights law permit freedom of expression to be restricted or prohibited simply on the grounds that some people find the views expressed offensive or disagreeable.

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