Leader of the Voina art group since its creation in 2007. In the fall of 2010, in connection with one of the group’s actions, a criminal case was opened against him under the article “hooliganism committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy”; the case was closed in September 2011. In the spring of 2011, he also became involved in a criminal case under the article “hooliganism, use of violence against a representative of the authorities and insulting a representative of the authorities.” In July 2011, he was put on the international wanted list.
Oleg Vladimirovich Vorotnikov, also known as Thief and Peregnoy, was probably born in 1978. According to him, he lived in the city of Novomoskovsk, Tula region, but in the investigative documents he was identified as a “native of the Perm region”, registered in the village of Ordzhonikidze, Tula region. Vorotnikov said that he grew up in a large family, whose members had the status of victims of the Chernobyl disaster; he also reported that his father was a miner who had to drive a minibus to provide for his family. According to Vorotnikov, one of his brothers died in a car accident and the other was killed. He mentioned his sister Nastya in one of his interviews. “I can call most of my relatives unhappy people,” Vorotnikov noted.
The future leader of the Voina art group studied at the Novomoskovsk Lyceum, where many knew him because he wrote poetry well (“Everything was forgiven to me as the best poet of Novomoskovsk,” he said). Subsequently, he entered the Faculty of Philosophy at Moscow State University (MSU), but he himself spoke unflatteringly about him. It is also known that for some time the leader of the art group worked as the head of the information department (or press secretary) at the Moscow Cinema Museum.
In 2005, Vorotnikov and Natalya Sokol (Koza, Kozlenok) created the art group Sokoleg, which was engaged in outdoor photography (according to other information - avant-garde fashion) and performances. Natalya was mentioned in the press as a candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, a junior researcher at Moscow State University, a specialist in the field of biochemical and medical physics. Since 2008, the press has repeatedly written that Sokol was Vorotnikov’s wife, possibly a common-law wife. In 2009, they had a child, whom they named Casper the Beloved Falcon.
At the beginning of 2007, Vorotnikov and Sokol organized the Voina group. Vorotnikov always played a key role in it. He was called a “founding father,” and the media claimed that “War is Vorotnikov,” although the ideas for many performances were invented by Sokol, who stated that the group’s goal was “an art war against all the global ideological rotten stuff.”
The group became known thanks to numerous high-profile events in which Vorotnikov acted both as an organizer and as a performer. In August 2007, he took part in the “Wars” event called “Feast,” which was a wake for the poet Dmitry Prigov in a Moscow metro car. In 2008, a few days before the presidential elections in Russia, "War" held a group orgy at the Biological Museum in Moscow against the backdrop of the slogan "F*** for the heir of Little Bear." One of the couples participating in the orgy was Vorotnikov and Sokol. In July 2008, during the “Cop in a Priest’s Cassock” campaign, Vorotnikov, dressed in a cassock over a police uniform, picked up a large amount of food from a supermarket and took it out without paying for it. In June 2010, one of the most famous actions of “War” was held in St. Petersburg - “F***y in captivity of the FSB”: activists of the group painted a huge phallus measuring 65 meters in length and 27 meters in width on the Liteiny Bridge. After the bridge was raised, the raised image of the phallus appeared in front of the windows of the Office of the Federal Security Service for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. For this action in April 2011, the Voina art group received the Russian art award “Innovation”, established by the Ministry of Culture and the State Center for Contemporary Art, in the category “Work of Visual Art”.
Subsequently, the actions of the art group headed by Vorotnikov acquired an increasingly defiant character. Thus, in September 2010, in St. Petersburg, members of the Voina group held the “Palace Coup” action, during which they overturned several police cars, and some of them may have had police officers inside. Soon, a criminal case was opened against Vorotnikov, Sokol and the group’s activist Leonid Nikolaev, known under the pseudonym “Lenya E***nuty”, under Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hooliganism committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy). In November 2010, they were detained in a Moscow apartment. Some of the personal belongings of the detainees were confiscated, and they themselves were interrogated at the “E” Center at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which deals with the fight against extremism, after which Vorotnikov and Nikolaev were sent to St. Petersburg to a pre-trial detention center. In January 2011, the court refused to release Vorotnikov and Nikolaev on bail of 2 million rubles each.
The arrest of the art group activists caused a wide resonance both in Russia and abroad. In their support, the “Free War” website was created, where funds were collected for things needed by prisoners and to pay for lawyers. In addition, British street artist Banksy and blogger Vagif Abdilov, who lived in Norway, raised money for the arrested (he organized the release of customized Royal Norwegian Post stamps depicting the group’s action on Liteiny Bridge).
Vorotnikov spent more than three months in prison. In February 2011, by decision of the court of the Dzerzhinsky district of St. Petersburg, he was released from the pre-trial detention center on bail of three hundred thousand rubles. The court took into account that the leader of the art group has a place of permanent registration, “receives income from work” (although he himself stated the opposite in an interview), as well as the fact that he has a young child in his care. In the same month, Nikolaev was also released on bail. Talking on Radio Liberty about his prison experience, Vorotnikov noted that while in prison he kept notes. At the same time, he doubted that they should be published after his release (“It would be more interesting, of course, if it could be published promptly, it would look more like an action”).
At the end of March 2011, Vorotnikov said that the money collected to help Voina was transferred to two political prisoners, as well as to his former cellmate, whose case, according to Vorotnikov, was fabricated. In addition, in April 2011, part of the money collected for “War” was transferred to Barnaul activists, against whom, after the graffiti campaign “Do you need such fellow travelers?” a case was opened on charges of hooliganism “motivated by political hatred, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy.”
In early March 2011, Vorotnikov, Nikolaev and Sokol were attacked in the center of St. Petersburg. According to the activists, they were walking from a press conference, noticed that they were being followed, and took photographs of their pursuers. Then these people, who introduced themselves as employees of the criminal investigation department, beat the members of the Voina group and took away their flash card with photographs. At the end of March, in connection with this incident, a criminal case was opened under Article 116 of the Criminal Code (beatings).
At the end of the same month, Vorotnikov and Sokol, along with their son, were detained during the unauthorized opposition “March of Dissent” in St. Petersburg, after which they were taken to different police stations. At the march, according to Sokol, they walked in a column of anarchists with the goal of “shouting anarchist slogans” and throwing bottles of urine at the police. According to Vorotnikov and his lawyer, he was beaten several times during his arrest and by the police, and was released only because he needed hospitalization. Sokol was kept at the station for about a day, and Vorotnikov took his son from the hospital where Kasper was placed after his parents were detained.
On April 14, 2011, a new criminal case was opened against Vorotnikov on suspicion of hooliganism, use of violence against a government official, and insulting a government official. According to investigators, during his arrest at the “March of Dissent,” Vorotnikov tore off the uniform caps of several police officers, hit one of them, and also damaged a police car.
In the same month, the first criminal case initiated against Vorotnikov and Nikolaev, at the request of the defense, was transferred from the Main Investigation Department of the Main Internal Affairs Directorate for St. Petersburg to the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for St. Petersburg. This was due to the fact that the St. Petersburg Central Internal Affairs Directorate in this case acted both as the prosecutor and as the injured party, whose property was damaged as a result of the “War” action. According to the lawyers, the investigators also ordered a psychiatric examination for Vorotnikov, despite the fact that the article “hooliganism” did not imply this.
At the end of April 2011, reports appeared in the press that Vorotnikov escaped from interrogation in a criminal case about his actions during the “March of Dissent,” and simply did not appear for the second interrogation because he thought that he would be arrested. Supporters of “War” stated back in April 2011 that the leader of the art group was put on the wanted list, but he was officially put on the federal wanted list in May 2011. In July 2011, it became known that a criminal case was opened against Vorotnikov’s wife, Natalya Sokol, under Article 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (insulting a government official) for behavior at the “march of dissent.”
In July 2011, Vorotnikov was put on the international wanted list. His deposit of 300 thousand rubles was seized in favor of the state. On July 22 of the same year, the Dzerzhinsky District Court of St. Petersburg granted the investigators' request to change the preventive measure for Vorotnikov in the first case and arrested him in absentia. On August 31, 2011, a complaint from Vorotnikov was registered with the European Court of Human Rights about the violation by the Russian authorities of his rights to freedom and personal integrity. At the same time, Vorotnikov perceived the international criminal investigation “as one of the highest forms of recognition of the work of a political artist here on earth.”
In October 2011, it became known that on September 1, the criminal prosecution of Vorotnikov and Nikolaev, which began after the “Palace Coup” action, was terminated, since the actions they committed did not comply with the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation under which they were accused. In the same month, the St. Petersburg City Court overturned the lower court's decision to collect Vorotnikov's bail in favor of the state. In early November, the “Palace Coup” case was resumed, suspended on December 1, and in February 2012, the prosecutor’s office again insisted on continuing the investigation.
On January 19, 2012, Vorotnikov and Sokol had a second child, a girl, whom they decided to call Mama Beloved Sokol. The next day, the court refused to satisfy the investigation's request to arrest Natalya Sokol.
The media published a variety of assessments of Vorotnikov and his activities. Thus, Anton Kotenev, who at one time participated in the activities of the Voina group, wrote that Oleg is “one of the smartest and most subtle people” whom he “has ever met in life,” who reads a lot and is well versed in art. At the same time, it was noted that he was rejected by many, largely due to his commitment to theft of food in stores, elevated to a principle, and also due to the fact that he and Sokol took their young son to all the events, putting him in danger. There were even reports in the media that Kasper’s parents could be held administratively liable for improper performance of parental responsibilities.
Dmitry Volchek, a columnist for Radio Liberty, met with the emigrated Oleg Vorotnikov (Vor), the leader of the art group “Voina” that boomed five years ago.
The last Russian action of the art group “War” with the participation of Oleg Vorotnikov, Natalia Sokol, Leonid Nikolaev and anonymous activists took place on December 31, 2011. No one could have thought then that “Mento-Auto-Da-Fe” would become their last statement for many years and the last action performed in the classic composition.
At one time, the radical actions of the art group were watched with amazement by the progressive youth of at least two capitals. It was they who organized a wake for Dmitry Prigov with a feast in the metro, sealed the entrance to the Oprichnik restaurant with an “iron curtain”, “stormed” the White House with laser graphics, organized a run with blue buckets on their heads on the roof of an FSO car, and finally, they painted 70- meter-long penis on the Liteiny drawbridge in St. Petersburg. For this and other actions they received several months in prison and the state Innovation Award. Videos of artistic and political actions with the participation of Vor, Koza, Leni the Crazy and several anonymous activists “exploded” the Internet five or six years ago. They were, perhaps, the most desirable information “banned”, a symbol of reckless protest against consumerism and lack of freedom at a time when the two capitals, it seemed, could not breathe the air of change.
Then something went wrong. And to be honest, everything went wrong.
Around 2010, the main “instigators” of artistic unrest were firmly pressed by the authorities along the criminal line. Vorotnikov the Thief and Nikolev the Nutty spent several months in prison. The activist leaders, released in 2011 on a small cash bail, immediately fled and were put on the wanted list. In 2010, Alexey Plutser-Sarno, the voice of Voina on the Internet, co-author and chronicler of all actions, left the country somewhere in the Baltic states. After some time, it became known that Vorotnikov with his wife and two children also illegally moved to the West, to Europe. The same rumors circulated about the most reckless activist of the group, Lena the Nutty. But they turned out to be lies. This turned out to be under the most tragic circumstances. Lenya, who had pulled fate by the mustache more than once, died as a result of a domestic accident. On September 22, 2015, Leonid Nikolaev fell from a height and later died in hospital from his injuries. It turned out that for several years he had been living illegally in the Domodedovo area and was preparing a new radical action - perhaps the most daring in the entire history of “War”.
After their emigration, little was heard about Vorotnikov and Sokol with their children in the context of actionist art. In Europe, the family moved from place to place. From time to time, strange messages were received about their skirmishes and fights with local anarchists and informals. Then we heard rumors that Vorotnikov and Sokol and their children moved to Switzerland at the invitation of Adrian Notz, the director of the cradle of Dadaism, Cabaret Voltaire, familiar to our readers (also, by the way, one of Lenin’s favorite places). But the rest is just rumors, there are few details.
And the other day, an article by Dmitry Volchek “Five years without “War”” was published on the Radio Liberty website. The author managed to meet (where exactly is not directly stated, but most likely in Switzerland) with Oleg Vorotnikov and his wife Natalya Sokol. The thief refused to give an interview, but the conversation took place. And Volchek wrote down his retelling, sometimes with quotes. The text is permeated with sympathy for the art rebels of the past, but overall the information is not cheerful.
Volchek’s text, for obvious reasons, is replete with innuendoes, so I will briefly retell it as I myself understood it. In Europe, the guys were also driven into a corner. They were again pressed by children (there are now three of them, the third daughter, Trinity, was born in Switzerland). In the migration prison they were given a choice: either they go to a refugee camp and ask for political asylum, or they are separated from their children and deported through Interpol. They didn’t want to ask for political asylum, but they had nothing to choose from. Volchek’s text quotes Vorotnikov: “... and we succumbed to the asylum... We were taken to the camp, filled out with documents and literally left lying on the floor in the passage. We were told that this is the best camp for families with children.”
In Vorotnikov’s words it is difficult to separate sincere statements from shocking ones; to do this you need to know him personally. But the author of the article confirms that Vorotnikov, who was perceived as an irreconcilable opponent of the authorities, has indeed now become a supporter of Putin, positively assesses the role of Volodin (who is already beginning to be called a possible successor), and is delighted with Lavrov’s foreign policy actions. They speak about liberals rather with contempt.
Unlike political ones, Vorotnikov looks at the artistic processes inside Russia extremely skeptically. Pavlensky - “secondary, shameful.” In general, there is nothing interesting in Russia, except that “Enjoykin” (makes cool videos on YouTube) is great. There are still no authorities for Vorotnikov, and at the global level too. Even Banksy, who donated money to Voina, is, in his words, “painters, they do everything for money.”
This is such a strange metamorphosis. True, I am not entirely sure of its truth. Should we take all the artist’s words at face value? Or is it nonconformism taken to the limit, turning into mercilessness towards colleagues, friends and sympathizers. No answer.
Vorotnikov is obviously also disillusioned with the West; he does not want to integrate into the local artistic life. He misses his homeland and wants to return. The position is: “I refuse on principle to organize events here or participate in artistic life. You can only criticize Russia from within, and not while sitting in the West... We are not emigrants, not refugees, it was not a gesture like our friends. We arrived for a while, and then the return channel slammed shut..."
Like this. That in Russia they faced prison and the risk of deprivation of parental rights, that in the West it was the same.
In general, this once again confirms the idea that forced emigration remains one of the most sophisticated and effective methods of reprisals against the “soil” artist. Especially over a nonconformist. And even more so over an actionist. The break with the country that provides the author with an artistic context and habitat knocks him out of the saddle. And the increasingly difficult exchange of information between the artist and his audience further complicates the situation. “War” has now fallen into a trap similar to the one into which Avdey Ter-Oganyan and Vladimir were previously driven. But these guys are special. I believe that they will figure out how to get out. And I wish them good luck.
Vladimir Bogdanov,A.I.
Radical actionist association
A left-wing radical actionist group that has been active since the beginning of 2007. She gained fame thanks to a series of shocking and radical performances. In 2011 she became a laureate of the Innovation art award.
The emergence of an art group
The art group "War" (in the works of the group members themselves it is customary to write its name without quotation marks) was created on the initiative of a graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University (MSU) Oleg Vorotnikov (nickname Thief), who was further referred to as the "founding father" , , , . Back in 2005, Vorotnikov and Natalya Sokol (nickname Koza) created the art group Sokoleg, which was engaged in outdoor photography (according to other sources, avant-garde fashion) and performances on the topic of paradigm shifts in art. In the spring of 2006, they met the artist Anton Nikolaev, the leader of the art group "Bombily", with whom they began active cooperation. The headquarters of the united project became one of the workshops of the prominent actionist artist Oleg Kulik, who, however, denied using any of his own ideas in the group’s performances.
At the beginning of 2007, the most radical and politically minded participants in the project, led by Vorotnikov and Sokol, organized the Voina group. Initially, the Voina art group was supposed to be radical left, “since there was no left spectrum in Russian art at all.” However, it was later emphasized that the political component of the project was more important than the artistic part.
Main stocks 2007-2010
In February 2007, the first performance of "War" took place - the performance "Thugs" at the Zverevsky Center for Contemporary Art, where the group was invited to the opening of the exhibition "Military Actions". During the performance, three participants of “War” were plastered in such a way that they formed a single sculptural group, which was then allowed to roll on ice cream briquettes (“frozen mud under the tracks of a tank”).
Soon after this, “War” and “Bombily”, as well as actionist Sergei (Emelyan) Gdal, created the “Street Art Trade Union”. On May 1, 2007, Voina, with the assistance of Bombil, held the Mordovian Hour event at the McDonald's restaurant on Serpukhovskaya Square in Moscow. Activists of the art group shouting “Free cash register!” they threw live cats at the restaurant counters, which was “a gift to the low-paid fast food workforce, deprived of rest and enjoyment of modern radical art on the holiday.” This action also contained a reference to the protest activities of Western anti-globalists, for whom the McDonald's restaurant chain is one of the symbols of globalization. In the same year, "Mordovian Hour" was recognized by the newspaper "Re: action" as "the most hooligan performance" .
Over the following months, Voina activists held several more actions and also took part in a number of performances, the main organizer of which was Bombily. At the beginning of July 2007, “War” was supposed to hold a joint performance with the famous figure of the artistic avant-garde Dmitry Prigov: it was assumed that the group’s activists would bring to the twenty-second floor of the Moscow State University student dormitory a cabinet with Prigov sitting inside, who was supposed to conduct a poetic dialogue with his own notes. However, the action did not take place - it was banned by the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University, and immediately on the eve of the performance Prigov was hospitalized, and a few days later he died. At the end of August of the same year, “Voina”, with the participation of “Bombil”, held the “Feast” event - a memorial service for Prigov, setting tables in a Moscow metro carriage. Subsequently, in February 2008, “The Feast” was repeated on three metro lines in Kyiv, after the authorities of the Ukrainian capital initiated the closure of the “Common Space” exhibition, in which, in particular, a video recording of the Moscow memorial for Prigov was shown.
From that time on, the political component of Voina’s activities became obvious. In 2007, its activists participated in the “March of Dissent” in Saratov - a speech by opponents of President Vladimir Putin - with the slogan “I want to eat halva, I want to sit on Putka” (attributed to the poet Alexander Brener). In November 2007, on the eve of the elections to the State Duma, Voina held an unauthorized action “PP (Monument to Prigov vs Putin’s Plan)” at the opening of the Non-Fiction fair in the Moscow Central House of Artists: group activists unexpectedly descended along a stretched banner from the mezzanine floor of the exhibition center with live sheep in their hands, .
In December 2007 (according to other sources, in February 2008), active cooperation between Voina and Bombil ceased. This was due to the fact that while Nikolaev’s group planned to work outside of Moscow with local groups, Voina preferred to work in the capital - partly counting on the press’s reaction to its activities. In addition, Nikolaev himself admitted that by this time he was tired of engaging in “clown actionism.” At the same time, philologist and author of works on obscene vocabulary Alexey Plutser-Sarno joined the group.
At the end of February 2008, a few days before the presidential elections, which were won by Dmitry Medvedev, Voina held one of its most famous events - a group orgy in the Biological Museum in Moscow against the backdrop of the slogan "F*** for the heir of the Little Bear ", , , (with similar slogans, members of Voina participated on the same days in a rally of the pro-Kremlin movement "Young Guard" and in the Moscow opposition "march of dissent"). The group members described the action at the Biological Museum as “a farewell message to a young leader, all possible support for Little Bear at the beginning of a long path.” A photo report about the action was published on Plutser-Sarno’s blog (reports also appeared there about the further activities of “War”), in connection with which a criminal case was opened against him for distributing pornography. No crime was found in the actions of the participants in the action, but later reports appeared that the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation had reopened the case regarding the orgy in the museum.
Immediately before the inauguration of the new President Medvedev, in early May 2008, Voina organized a new action: its participants broke into the police station in Bolshevo, near Moscow, hung a large portrait of Medvedev and began to read Prigov’s texts dedicated to the police.
Subsequently, the topic of law enforcement agencies occupied a significant place in the group’s activities. Thus, in July 2008, the “Cop in a Priest’s Cassock” event took place, during which Vorotnikov, dressed in a cassock over a police uniform and personifying “an ambivalent creature to whom everything is allowed,” collected a large amount of food from the Seventh Continent supermarket and carried it away with impunity. them without paying; it was subsequently pointed out that this action anticipated the story of police major Denis Yevsyukov, who in the spring of the following year carried out the shooting of customers in a supermarket. In May 2009, on the first day of the trial of the organizers of the scandalous exhibition "Forbidden Art 2006" Yuri Samodurov and Andrei Yerofeyev, the participants of "War" unexpectedly performed the song "All cops are bastards" in the courtroom. , which was condemned by both the lawyers of the accused and the human rights activists present, in particular, Lev Ponomarev, (at the same time, “Voina” had previously carried out actions against the persecution of the curators of “Forbidden Art”; for example, in May 2008, the group staged a performance in front of the prosecutor’s office building , where Erofeev was interrogated).
Two actions carried out by Voina at the end of 2008 received significant resonance. On the night of November 7, several activists of the group projected an image of a skull and crossbones onto the Government House of the Russian Federation, after which other activist participants climbed over the fence of the government residence, freely crossed its courtyard, and then disappeared. The following month, Voina welded steel sheets over the entrance to the Oprichnik restaurant, which, according to some sources, belonged to pro-Kremlin journalist Mikhail Leontyev; in January 2009, a criminal case was opened on this fact. During the same period, some activists for the rights of sexual minorities joined the group; In addition, Voina began to more actively cooperate with Moscow anarchists and anti-fascists.
“War” also continued to use the theme of supermarkets (as Plutser-Sarno later stated, this was due to the fact that “a supermarket is a public space where there is a ready stage, a ready theater, ready spectators, a ready confrontation, and there you can play out certain situations " ). In September 2008, the group imitated the hanging of homosexuals and migrant workers in one of the Auchan hypermarkets; this became "a symbolic gift to the mayor of Moscow Luzhkov as a sign of his merits in spreading xenophobia, homophobia and nationalism in the city." In 2009-2010, participants in the "War", who publicly admitted that they usually steal food from stores, carried out actions to consume or take away food in supermarkets in a number of European countries and the United States, posing as hungry illegal migrants from Russia, which was a unique testing the tolerance of society in these countries. In the summer of 2010, Voina carried out a ritualized removal of frozen chicken from one of the supermarkets in St. Petersburg.
In June 2009, a scandal occurred related to the participation of the Voina group in the exhibition “Russian Lettrism” curated by Andrei Erofeev at the Central House of Artists. On the eve of the opening of the exhibition, the director of the exhibition center, Vasily Bychkov, demanded that the “Wars” exhibition, dedicated, among other things, to the group’s action at the Biological Museum, be dismantled. As a result, a clash arose between the “War” participants and the guards, and, as it was reported, some exhibits were damaged; Nevertheless, the “War” exposition was removed.
At the beginning of 2010, an activist of the opposition movement "Solidarity", a member of the political council of his Moscow association, Leonid Nikolaev (in the descriptions of the group appeared as Lenya E***nuty), joined the "main composition" of the "War" group. In May 2010, at the height of public protests against the excessive use of special signals on cars, Nikolaev went out with a blue bucket on his head symbolizing a “flashing light” onto the road strip near the Kremlin and ran over the hood and roof of a Federal Security Service (FSO) car moving with a special signal; Over the next few days, a video of Nikolaev's speech was widely distributed on the Internet. At the end of May, Nikolaev was kidnapped by FSO officers, but was soon released after being charged with hooliganism. Although the court subsequently refused to accept Nikolaev’s case for consideration due to violations of norms when collecting evidence of his guilt, the “War” activist himself from that time on actually went into “illegal status” and was hiding from law enforcement agencies.
In June 2010, a new high-profile “War” action was held in St. Petersburg: as a sign of protest against increased security measures on the eve of the International Economic Forum, group activists painted a huge phallus measuring 65 meters long and 27 meters wide on the Liteiny Bridge. After the bridge was raised, the raised image of the phallus appeared in front of the windows of the Office of the Federal Security Service for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, , , , . Nikolaev was detained during the rally and fined for petty hooliganism. The promotion became widely known due to the dissemination of information about it on blogs: the message about it held first place in the main blog rankings for several days.
In connection with the activities of “War,” blogs and the press regularly discussed why the group’s activists were not detained by the police, and if they were detained, they were soon released. The members of “War” themselves explained this by saying that all their actions were carefully planned to avoid even minimal risk, , .
In September 2010, the “War” action “Palace Coup” took place in St. Petersburg, the purpose of which was “to show how to carry out the reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.” During the action, activists of the group overturned several police cars, and there were police officers inside some of the cars at that moment.
Persecution of "War" (since 2010)
Soon after the “Palace Coup”, a case was opened against the main activists of “War” under Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hooliganism committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy); members of the group were put on the wanted list. On November 15, 2010, Vorotnikov, Sokol and Nikolaev were detained in Moscow and interrogated at the “E” Center at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which deals with the fight against extremism. Soon Sokol was released, and Vorotnikov and Nikolaev were sent to an isolation ward in St. Petersburg, , , . In the same month, it became known that Plutzer-Sarno had left Russia, fearing persecution.
The “Palace Coup” action and the subsequent arrest of Vorotnikov and Nikolaev caused a heated discussion in the press about the boundaries of what should be interpreted primarily as art. Many artists and critics admitted that the action was a criminal act. At the same time, a number of artists and journalists came out in support of "War", recognizing its right to radical actionism, and called for the abandonment of punishment or at least for its mitigation.
Already in December 2010, several events were held in support of “War”. In particular, blogger Vagif Abdilov, who lived in Norway, organized the release of customized stamps from the Norwegian Royal Post, which depicted the group’s action on Liteiny Bridge. In the middle of the month, the British street artist Banksy organized an online sale of reproductions of one of his works and announced the transfer of proceeds from the sale in the amount of about 90 thousand pounds (approximately 4.5 million rubles) to help "War". On December 18, a small rally was held in Moscow in defense of the group, in which many famous artists and art journalists participated. Subsequently, in mid-February 2011, a video message in support of the leaders of “War” was published by the famous rock musician Yuri Shevchuk.
The terms of detention of Vorotnikov and Nikolaev were extended until February 21 and 22, 2011, when the Dzerzhinsky District Court of St. Petersburg agreed to release them on bail of three hundred thousand rubles for each, , , . A month after their release, Vorotnikov and Nikolaev said that they transferred the money collected as a result of Abdilov and Banksy’s actions to help two political prisoners, as well as one of their former cellmates, whose charges, in their opinion, were fabricated.
As it became known, on March 3, 2011, Vorotnikov, Nikolaev and Sokol were attacked in the center of St. Petersburg by persons who introduced themselves as employees of the criminal investigation department. At the end of March, in connection with this incident, a criminal case was opened under the article “beatings”.
On March 31, 2011, several participants in the “War,” including Vorotnikov, Sokol, and even their little son, were detained for several hours during an unsanctioned opposition “march of dissent.” On April 14, a second criminal case was opened against Vorotnikov: he was accused of hooliganism, using violence against a government official and insulting a government official. In July 2011, it became known that a criminal case under Article 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (insulting a government official) was opened against Natalya Sokol for behavior at the “dissent march”.
In April 2011, the group "War" became a laureate of the Russian art award "Innovation": the action on Liteiny Bridge was recognized as the best "Work of Visual Art". The organizers of the award tried to exclude “War” from the list of nominees, citing non-compliance with the regulations, but under public pressure they were forced to return it to the list of contenders for the award. Voina donated the 400 thousand rubles received as the main prize to the interregional human rights association Agora, which was going to use it to “protect civil activists.” The lawyers of this association also helped the art group itself.
Vorotnikov did not appear for interrogations and in July 2011 was put on the international wanted list, arrested in absentia, and his deposit of 300 thousand rubles was seized in favor of the state. At the end of August 2011, it became known that Sokol was put on the federal wanted list. Two months later, she was detained, but released a few hours later and disappeared again, after which in early December Sokol, who was eight months pregnant, was put on the international wanted list and arrested in absentia (although on December 27 the decision to arrest was canceled) . At the same time, in October 2011 it became known that on September 1, the criminal prosecution of Vorotnikov and Nikolaev, which began after the “Palace Coup” action, was stopped due to the fact that the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation incriminated against him did not correspond to the actions he committed, , , , . In this regard, on October 24, the decision to confiscate Vorotnikov's bail was canceled. Subsequently, the investigation into the “Palace Coup” case was repeatedly resumed, and then suspended again , , , , .
On December 31, 2011, on New Year’s Eve, Voina activists, as a “gift to political prisoners,” held the “Mento-Auto-Da-Fe” or “Fucking Prometheus” action near one of the St. Petersburg police stations, during which they set fire to police vehicle for transporting prisoners "Ural" , , , . A few days later, in connection with this incident, a criminal case was opened under Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Hooliganism”.
"Moscow faction" art group
Back at the end of 2009, one of the most active participants in the project, Petr Verzilov, was expelled from Voina, who allegedly condoned the arrest of actionist Alexander Volodarsky (known under the nickname Shiitman) during simulated copulation near the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in protest against the activities of the National Expert Commission to protect public morality (according to Voina activists, Verzilov proceeded from the fact that Volodarsky’s conviction could become “cool PR” for the art group), . Subsequently, Verzilov and the actionists who joined him (including his wife Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, nicknamed Tolokno) continued to perform under the name “Wars”, which actually led to the opposition of two projects of the same name. In relation to Verzilov’s group, the name “Moscow faction of the Voina group” was also used.
One of the most notable actions of the “Moscow faction” was the “Cockroach Court”: on the day the verdict in the case of the organizers of the exhibition “Forbidden Art” began in July 2010, Verzilov released 3.5 thousand large cockroaches in the courthouse as a sign of protest, , (Plutser -Sarno claimed that the idea of this action was stolen by Verzilov from Vorotnikov’s group). In addition, activists of this group in the summer of 2010 took part in protests against the construction of a highway through the Khimki Forest.
Timed to coincide with the entry into force of the new law “On Police” on March 1, 2011, the action of the “Moscow faction” “Garbage Kiss”, during which over two months at the beginning of the year, activists of the group kissed about a hundred female police officers in Moscow, in September of the same year was presented at the fourth Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art. The presentation of the action drew sharp criticism from Plutzer-Sarno and some other artists, who, in connection with this, even called for a boycott of the biennale.
At the end of August 2011, the “Moscow faction” also held a noticeable action called “The Breadwinner Road.” During the action, activists stopped cars and collected help for recertified police officers who, as a result of police reform, allegedly lost the opportunity to collect money from drivers.
Some of the members of the “Moscow faction” were also members of the feminist group Pussy Riot, which gained fame for its provocative “punk prayer” in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior in February 2012.
General ideology and composition
The Voina group constantly emphasized a special way of life, in particular, the maximum refusal of money (which was associated with the practice of stealing food from stores) and “aggressive squatting” - living in uninhabited apartments in new buildings. In addition to the actions, information about which was disseminated, the group members also engaged in “daily performances,” that is, they presented actionism as a norm of life.
During the period 2007-2010, more than two hundred people took part in the “War” actions. At the same time, as of the fall of 2010, the core of the group was Vorotnikov, Sokol, Nikolaev and Plutser-Sarno; According to some sources, about sixty people were unofficially registered in Voina. Former members of the group called Vorotnikov “one hundred percent the author” of “War,” while at the same time the main performances of the group were invented by Natalya Sokol.
Both critics and participants in "War" noted that in their work the group continued the traditions of political actionism associated with American activists of the late 1950s, as well as Moscow actionism and the art of Sots Art. The semantization of an action, the attribution of interpretations to it (albeit multiple ones), which the group tried to control in the media environment, was noted as an important part of the group’s activities. At the same time, Vorotnikov and other participants in “War” criticized their predecessors, as well as contemporary actionists, for insufficient radicalism and “lethargy,” and accused them of engaging exclusively in imitation of action. Representatives of the group specifically focused on the reality and non-artificiality of their activities: “The fact that there is almost no art in the “War” actions is what makes them ultra-modern new art.” However, the minimum task of the group was “not to organize flashy shows, but to form a circle of people who are interested in such activities.”
In mid-February 2012, the film “Tomorrow”, directed by Andrei Glazyev, dedicated to the lifestyle and actions of “War”, was presented at the Berlin Film Festival. Glazyev himself took part in the group’s actions for some time; however, some critics accused the film of not properly reflecting the philosophy of War.
Used materials
Pussy Riot are officially accused. - Interfax, 12.03.2012
Dmitry Marakulin. The "Palace Coup" case has been suspended. - Kommersant-Online, 12.03.2012
Two members of Pussy Riot have been arrested until the end of April. - Grani.Ru, 05.03.2012
The investigation into the criminal case into the action of the art group “War” involving overturning police cars has been resumed. - Interfax, 20.02.2012
Alexey Medvedev. Viewers are only interested in "War". - Moscow news, 18.02.2012
Denis Kataev. The secrets of the art group "War" have been revealed. - Rain, 17.02.2012
Elena Kostyleva. Battle in heaven. - Session, 15.02.2012
The Voina art group announced an end to the persecution of its activists. - RIA News, 08.01.2012
Ivan Skirtach. A criminal case has been opened into the arson of a police car in St. Petersburg, which was committed by the Voina art group. - ITAR-TASS, 07.01.2012
Vera Kopylova. Third degree arson. - Moscow's comsomolets, 05.01.2012. - №25837
New training event of the Voina group “Mento-Auto-Da-Fe”, or “F***ing Prometheus”. - plucker.livejournal.com, 02.01.2012
The Voina art group burned a St. Petersburg police paddy wagon. - BBC News, Russian service, 02.01.2012
The "war" was fought. - Fontanka.Ru, 02.01.2012
The St. Petersburg City Court overturned the decision to arrest Voina activist Sokol in absentia. - Interfax, 27.12.2011
The court arrested Sokol, a member of the Voina art group, in absentia. - Fontanka.Ru, 07.12.2011
The Voina activist has been put on the international wanted list. - BBC News, Russian service, 06.12.2011
Ivan Skirtach. A member of the art group "War" has been put on the international wanted list. - ITAR-TASS, 06.12.2011
Sergey Shabokhin. Interview with the Russian art group Voina. - Art Aktivist, 03.11.2011
Voina activist Nikolaev became accused again; the prosecutor's office reversed the decision to dismiss the case. - Gazeta.Ru, 02.11.2011
The prosecutor's office overturned the decision to terminate the criminal case against Voina activist Nikolaev. - Open News Agency, 02.11.2011
The court canceled the seizure of the bail granted for the activist of the Voina art group. - RIA News, 24.10.2011
The Voina activist did not appear before the investigator again. - BBC News, Russian service, 19.10.2011
St. Petersburg police detained activist of the Voina group Natalya Sokol along with her son. - Gazeta.Ru, 18.10.2011
The detained Voina activist was released from the police, the lawyer said. - RIA News, 18.10.2011
The case against the leader of the Voina art group, Vorotnikov, has been dropped. - Interfax, 13.10.2011
Maria Moskvicheva. Was "War" forgiven for the "Palace Coup"? - Moscow's comsomolets, 12.10.2011
The case against Leonid Nikolaev, an activist of the Voina art group, has been dropped. - Interfax, 11.10.2011
Nikita Zeya. The police are not a social group. - Gazeta.Ru, 11.10.2011
The participation of "War" in the Moscow Biennale caused a conflict. - OpenSpace.ru, 26.09.2011
The Voina group in the “Road-Nurse” campaign: the lawlessness of cop families. - wisegizmo.livejournal.com, 12.09.2011
A blow to poverty. - Kasparov.Ru, 12.09.2011
Resolution to terminate the criminal prosecution of the investigator of the investigative department for the Central District of the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for St. Petersburg (criminal case No. 276858), 09/01/2011
The wife of the leader of the Voina art group has been put on the wanted list. - Interfax, 30.08.2011
Members of the Voina art group are preparing a new action for the authorities. - RBC, 22.07.2011
The court arrested Voina activist Vorotnikov in absentia. - Infox.ru, 22.07.2011
Activist of the Voina art group Vorotnikov has been put on the international wanted list. - RIA News, 21.07.2011
An activist of the Voina art group is suspected of insulting government officials. - BaltInfo, 13.07.2011
Voina activist Sokol is suspected of insulting police officers. - RIA News, 13.07.2011
Yulia Vinogradova. Art for political prisoners. - Independent newspaper, 05.07.2011
A criminal case has been opened in St. Petersburg against a native of the Perm region, suspected of committing hooliganism, using violence against a government official, and insulting a government official. - Main Investigation Department of the RF Investigative Committee for St. Petersburg (sledcomspb.ru), 14.04.2011
The case of "War". - Interfax, 14.04.2011
Svetlana Yankina. The Voina art group received the Innovation Award. - RIA News, 08.04.2011
Tatiana Voltskaya. The "war" suffered for the Constitution. - Radio Liberty, 01.04.2011
Maria Tsvetkova, Denis Pinchuk. In the fight between the authorities and the opposition in the Russian Federation, a baby was injured. - Reuters, 01.04.2011
State Prize "Innovation". Reference. - RIA News, 29.03.2011
A case was opened in St. Petersburg regarding an attack on Voina activists. - RAPSI, 25.03.2011
The Voina group donated the money collected by Banksy to help prisoners. - RIA News, 22.03.2011
Following yesterday's attack by unknown persons, artists from the Voina art group contacted the police. - Echo of Moscow, 04.03.2011
"War" came across people in civilian clothes. - Interfax, 04.03.2011
Ideologist of the art group “Voina”: it wasn’t us who kissed the policewomen. - BBC News, Russian service, 02.03.2011
Girls from the art group "War" forcibly kiss female police officers. - NEWSru.com, 01.03.2011
Vladimir Kostyushev. How was it? Comments and photos on the trial of Oleg Vorotnikov on February 21, 2011. - Cogita!ru, 22.02.2011
The court decided to release Leonid Nikolaev on bail. - , 02.22.2011
The second member of the Voina art group was released on bail. - BaltInfo, 22.02.2011
The court decided to release Oleg Vorotnikov on bail. - Free War (free-voina.org), 21.02.2011
Activists of the Voina art group were left under arrest. - TV Art, 15.02.2011
War on society. - Kasparov.Ru, 11.02.2011
The St. Petersburg court did not release Lenya Nikolaev and Oleg Vorotnikov from the Voina art group from custody. - NEWSru.com, 14.01.2011
The rally in support of the art group “War” brought together about two hundred participants. - Grani.Ru, 18.12.2010
A rally was held in Moscow in support of the arrested artists. - Radio Liberty, 18.12.2010
Banksy's sale in favor of the Voina group went off with a bang. - BBC News, Russian service, 14.12.2010
Banksy raised more than 4 million rubles for the Voina art group. - New Izvestia, 14.12.2010
Tom Parfitt. Banksy pledges £80,000 to Russian radical art group Voina. - The Guardian, 12.12.2010
Stamps with the “St. Petersburg phallus” were issued in Norway. - Salt, 08.12.2010
Stamps depicting the action of the "War" group were issued in Norway. - RIA News, 08.12.2010
Nina Petlyanova, Elena Racheva. Military losses. - New Newspaper, 29.11.2010
Mikhail Bokov. The "war" was on the run. - MR7, 29.11.2010
Anton Kotenev. What is the Voina group? - Liberty.ru, 22.11.2010
Should we show solidarity with the Voina group? - OpenSpace.ru, 22.11.2010
The last action of the art group "War" took place on December 31, 2011 - on New Year's Eve, a police paddy wagon in St. Petersburg was cleverly burned. For "Mento-Auto-Da-Fe" "War" received the "Russian Activist Art" award from fans, and from the state - a criminal case under Article 213 ("Hooliganism"). As you know, everything changes in Russia in five years, but nothing changes in 200. “War” announced that the burned paddy wagon was just the beginning, but there was no continuation, and the illegal actionists disappeared into the global underground. The founder of the group, Oleg Vorotnikov (Vor) and his wife Natalya Sokol (Koza) crossed the border and ended up in Europe, where their lives were not in the best way: tedious information about scandals, detentions, beatings and other incidents can be found on the group’s website.
A campaign in support of actionists, organized by philologist Alexei Plutser-Sarno, who calls himself a “media artist of Voina,” took place in Europe, America and even the Philippines. I myself participated in one of the actions when a huge portrait of Oleg Vorotnikov with the inscription Voina Wanted was hung on Karlovo bridge in Prague. It was spectacular and safe, the action was approved by the mayor's office. When the same poster was hung on Tower Bridge, the London police intervened, and in Bucharest, Oleg Vorotnikov's defenders were completely beaten and detained.
In 2014, reports emerged that Vorotnikov supported the seizure of Crimea and became a supporter of Putin. It was hard for me to believe this: how could such a delusional metamorphosis happen to an urban partisan who came up with actions that ridiculed Putinism - in the role of Mentopop, he went to the supermarket, drew a huge penis on the drawbridge in front of the FSB building in St. Petersburg, overturned police cars, projected a skull and crossbones onto the Russian government building and was imprisoned for it?
And in one of the European cities I meet Oleg and his wife. They have three children, the youngest are sleeping, the eldest, Casper, whom I remember as a baby, has grown up and should have gone to school. But where will they take him? The parents are in an illegal situation, they have no documents, much less medical insurance, and a daughter named Mama, born in St. Petersburg when her parents were hiding from arrest, is not registered at all. When Koza went to the antenatal clinic for an examination, the doctors identified her and wanted to call the police, as if repeating the story from the series about Stirlitz. The goat ran away and wisely gave birth at home without the involvement of midwives in uniform. The third child was born in Switzerland.
Oleg immediately warns that he will not give me an interview because he does not want to deal with the “liberal” media. Yes, everything turned out to be true: he is now a Putinist. And not just a supporter of the seizure of Crimea: Oleg believes that Putin “amazingly completed the work of saving Russian statehood,” Vyacheslav Volodin is a “brilliant leader,” Sergei Lavrov is an outstanding diplomat who knows how to win in an enemy environment, “Dima Yakovlev’s law” is fair, and In general, “there is nothing more beautiful than national unity.”
I’m trying to argue and have to say platitudes that the myth of national unity is a product of propaganda, thanks to Lavrov’s “diplomacy” Russia has no allies left except the DPRK, and because of the anti-orphan law, sick children are dying in terrible orphanages. But Oleg doesn’t want to listen to anything: he is sure that Western propaganda is worse than Russian, since a taxi driver in Europe can say that he likes Putin, but an intellectual is afraid.
What to answer to this? Probably the only thing is that an intellectual is responsible for his words, but a taxi driver is not.
“Good Russian propaganda is a ray of sunshine on the last page of Pionerskaya Pravda on a July day,” Oleg says, and I suspect that this is a quote from Prokhanov’s article.
I have never seen anything worse than Switzerland
After spending several years in Europe (and he visited many cities - Venice, Rome, Zurich, Basel, Vienna and even Cesky Krumlov, where Egon Schiele vegetated a hundred years ago), Oleg was unconditionally disillusioned with the West. "I wasted years of my life and found nothing interesting." People here are intimidated by the system, they make a “positive bet on hypocrisy,” the left movement is helpless and there is no art. Most of all he dislikes Switzerland: “I have never seen anything worse than this country.” Oleg and his family came to Basel at the invitation of the director of the Zurich Cabaret Voltaire, Adrian Notz. Oleg believes that Notz acted shamelessly, abandoned them in a squat and didn’t even ask how the birth went. It all ended in a conflict with squatters, which Oleg described in an interview with the Furfur website:
“We managed to capture the massacre, but when we reported it to the police, they snatched the camera from our hands and hid it. Then we visited a human rights organization that helps victims of violence. They provided us with a lawyer for four hours - they are so willing to pay for a lawyer, and they are expensive here. At the migration office In prison, I had a conversation with the police, they drew two possibilities: either to a camp and ask for political asylum, or we would be separated from our children and separately deported to our homeland as illegal immigrants. Plus, in my case, at the request of Interpol. The usual police manipulation of children began, and we succumbed to asylum. We are not emigrants, not refugees, it was not a gesture like our friends. We arrived for a while, and then the return channel slammed shut. Traditionally, the Swiss authorities call for leaving the country by a certain date. If not, then repressive mechanisms are activated. Us "They took us to the camp, filled out paperwork and literally left us lying on the floor in the aisle. We were told that this was the best camp for families with children."
Oleg describes the refugee camp as an underground hell, the scared to death inhabitants of which are released for walks according to a schedule, like prisoners. This may be true, I won’t argue, but the idea of the Swiss as pompous monsters who consider all foreigners to be second-class citizens is hardly true. According to Oleg, only the lawyer who became famous for defending Roman Polanski agreed to help them, but he also failed to do anything due to bureaucratic resistance.
Our children's best years were spent in hell
Before this, a similar conflict occurred with neighbors in a squat in Venice. Oleg’s version (a brutal, unmotivated beating, “I accidentally remained alive - I understood that one more blow and I would be crushed”) is at odds with the version of his opponents set out in this letter. Surely, as always happens, the truth is in the middle: even the most asocial Venetian anarchists could not withstand the Russian chaos, and an ordinary everyday conflict, slowly flaring up, led to a massacre. Oleg colorfully describes how, in front of stunned Japanese tourists clicking cameras, he was handcuffed and with his head bandaged by the police on a boat along the Grand Canal. He spent only a few days in prison, and from Venice - “this is not a city, but a cemetery, what to do there?” - moved to Rome. “The best years of our children were spent in hell,” he complains. “I am a Russian person, why do I need their values?” Through the fate of this not very banal family, one can study the essence of the centuries-old ideological conflict between Russia and Europe.
What about the Voina group? “I refuse on principle to organize actions here, to participate in artistic life. You can only criticize Russia from within, and not from sitting in the West,” says Oleg. He doesn’t like everything that happens in European art. I remember Banksy, who in 2010, when “War” was arrested, helped her financially, but Oleg brushes it off: “This is not an artist, but a stupid team of designers, painters, they do everything for money.”
we don't give up, we need to be caught
Disappointment in the West led to the fact that what was happening in Russia began to seem wonderful to Oleg and his wife. Most of all, they dream of returning to their homeland. “If they told me that we were getting into a taxi and going to the airport, I wouldn’t even bother to pack my things.” But it’s impossible to return: Oleg is on the international wanted list, Koza is on the federal wanted list. And where to go with three small children? Their relatives are not interested in their fate, a significant part of their friends have turned away, and there is nowhere to live. One could give up and ask for forgiveness from the magnificent Volodin, but Oleg says: “This is against the ideology of “War”: we do not give up, we need to be caught.” And it’s clear that the Kremlin doesn’t need allies like Vor and Koza. How do you use them? They'll probably say something wrong. If Surkov were still in charge of ideology, he would probably find it funny to take the Vorotnikov family under his protection, but today’s club-headed fans of nooscopes and telegony are not capable of such sophistication.
Here we should remember the third member of the Voina group - the wonderful Leonid Nikolaev. Many thought that he also fled abroad, but in September 2015 it became known that Lenya died in the Moscow region. If you believe the story of his friend, published on the website "Nihilist", he lived illegally and was preparing a complex performance called "The Pathopticons Defeated": he was going to use construction winches mounted on the roofs of two high-rise buildings to lift the car of an Investigative Committee employee into the air and set it on fire . “At the level of the 12th floor, the wheelbarrow froze and continued to hang, flaming and swaying, in the middle between two high-rise buildings.”
Several times, he was an extremely charming and reasonable person, so I was not surprised when I read the following passage in the same memoirs: “He was absolutely horrified by Oleg’s statements in support of the annexation of Crimea... He perceived the action with the burning car as a symbolic cleansing, through which the history of the group "War" passed."
Leni's death was a big blow for Oleg and Koza. “We were like a stool with three legs that stood very well. And now one leg is missing, and it will end in a fall, despite our vast experience of illegal life.”
Oleg and Koza categorically do not want to socialize in any way, work, or lead a banal burgher life. “We are not going to apply for political asylum, and no one needs us, no one is offering anything... The human rights community considers us hooligans.” I’ll say right away that I don’t see anything reprehensible in this reluctance; there are already enough bourgeois and office slackers, and refusal to follow the rules of their existence is a completely natural position for an artist. Van Gogh or Schiele, in the opinion of the average person, also behaved outrageously. But the transformation of anarchists who poured urine on cops into admirers of Vyacheslav Volodin cannot but be puzzling.
I’m trying to understand how this change happened, and I think about the Russian emigrants who, in 1937 or 1945 in Paris, were sure that Russia was being reborn, dropped everything and rushed to Stalin to be shot.
I have three or four radiant memories, and one of them is prison
Hoping to shock me, Oleg praises the wisdom of Putin, who “perfectly beat” the liberals in 2013. In his opinion, Putin acted gently with his enemies, “there was so much fatherly care in these decisions!” The reminder of the fate of Udaltsov (who also supported the annexation of Crimea), Oleg Navalny and Boris Nemtsov does not impress him - all this is Western propaganda. Oleg remembers his time in prison with delight. "This is one of the best events in my life. I have three or four radiant memories, and one of them is prison." Over the years spent in European hell, his homeland began to seem like a promised land to him. “In Russia you can kill a cop and either go to jail or not to jail. Normal situation!” He is convinced that there is no such freedom as in Russia anywhere. “When I was wanted, every day I rode my bicycle past the main entrance to the prosecutor’s office, where they were waiting for us, and nothing happened.”
I am ready to agree with the conclusion about the vastness of Russian freedom, although I hope that the Lord will deliver me from it.
Out of inertia, I’m trying to argue with Oleg: what good did Putin do when he distributed billions to his friends from the Ozero cooperative? But Oleg retorts: “He did the right thing. And who should he have given it to? You and Fanailova? I, too, would have given everything to Koza, and not to some Czech artist.”
Oleg doesn’t like everything that happens in contemporary Russian art, especially Pavlensky: “Secondary, shameful, unplastic.” I ask what is the difference between a penis drawn on a bridge and the FSB setting fire to the door, but Oleg is convinced that the “War” action in St. Petersburg was poetic and long-lasting (the bridge rose, fell, it took a long time to clean it), and Pavlensky did everything in a minute for the photographers, and the best the performance was the decision of the KGB officers to close the scorched door with metal sheets (“they beat Pavlensky”). Although Oleg’s political views have changed so seriously, Voina’s actions still seem wonderful to him: “Everything we did was cool.”
I agree with this: “War” was an outstanding phenomenon in contemporary Russian art, and both the simplest and most popular of their actions were good, as well as complex ones, like the famous “chicken”, which outraged even some fans: unfortunately, this one is very intricate , a witty and labyrinth-like performance full of hidden meanings, was reduced in the mass consciousness to a bourgeois cry “They’re stuffing themselves with chickens!”
I would call the most witty and beautiful action of “War” the wonderful trick of Leonid Nikolaev, who jumped onto the roof of an FSO car with two buckets on his head. This video can be watched endlessly, like the films of Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
I’m trying to find out from Oleg whether there is at least something interesting in modern Russian art, but he brushes it off: “Everything is shameful, and you have been lowering this bar for a long time and persistently” (that is, liberals). Finally, he remembers: “Enjoykin! How don’t you all notice?! This is the number one artist since 2014! What a Pavlensky!”
Do the artist's political views matter? There is a good saying: “Opinions are like assholes: everyone has one.” Louis-Ferdinand Celine ran to the German commandant's office in occupied Paris and asked why not all the Jews had been arrested yet, but at the same time he remained a great writer. Chekhov wrote: “As long as you play cards with an ordinary person or have a snack with him, then he is a peaceful, good-natured and even intelligent person, but as soon as you talk to him about something inedible, for example, about politics or science, he becomes confused or starts such a philosophy, stupid and evil, that all you can do is wave your hand and walk away.” Replace the average person with an artist, and the quote will fit today’s plot.
Oleg Vorotnikov says that Putin did the right thing by betting on cops and priests, and not on Lev Rubinstein. But his image of a “cop in a priest’s cassock,” a mockery of the state that he so passionately loved in 2014, will remain in the history of art, and all this talk about Volodin and communal squabbles will be forgotten. The Voina group is as important for Russian culture as Viennese actionism is for Austrian or the Beat movement for America. Someday the documentation of their actions will end up in the best museums in Russia, there is no doubt about that.
But what to do now? The Vorotnikovs are truly in a desperate situation. “If they give us a blow again, we won’t get up,” says Koza. Such words are not simply spoken.
How to help people without documents who are wanted? In Europe, no one needs them; nothing good awaits them in their harsh homeland. There is no clear way out of this situation. Perhaps some generous philanthropist will read my article and want to do something - at least send a child to school? In the hope of such a miracle, I decided to tell this sad story about radical art and political delusions.
March 12, 2018 2018-03-12T12:05:00Z 2018-03-12T12:05:00ZPhoto: Art-group "Voina"
Many of you have heard about the art group "War" in connection with Pussy Riot. Others are aware of the most notable actions: someone, for example, remembers the giant penis drawn on the Liteiny Bridge in St. Petersburg (“Dick in Captivity of the FSB”). Some people are familiar with the name Pyotr Verzilov. But the founders of Voina say that Verzilov and Pussy Riot, in short, “don’t work.” Few people know what the real “War” is.
It turns out that the artists (or whatever you would call them?) left Russia back in 2012 and have been wandering around Europe ever since. After a series of scandals and constant theft, they and their three children ended up on the street and now live on an old boat in Berlin. The founder of "War" disappeared completely.
I want to show you a cool report about how the art group came to such a life. A week ago the text was published by the BBC. For your convenience, I have reposted it with significant abbreviations:
January night, five minutes past twelve. Moscow celebrates the Old New Year. In a semi-dark playground in Berlin, 38-year-old Natalya Sokol, also known as Koza, pushes her daughters, six-year-old Mama and two-year-old Trinity, in a supermarket cart. They squeal quite a bit.
With her left foot she manages to hit the ball, which is sent to her from the corner of the field by her son, eight-year-old Kasper - her mother promised to play football with him this afternoon. Curly, high cheekbones, thin bones - only her belly is slightly noticeable under her down jacket: Sokol is pregnant with her fourth.
Standing next to her in a hat is her husband, the father of the family, the heavyset, stately Oleg Vorotnikov, the founder and leader of one of the most successful art groups of the 2000s:
“We’re even pleased that you came. We are completely isolated here. We don’t communicate with anyone. Everyone is afraid of us, no one talks.”
The Voina art group, known for its daring actions against the police and security forces, left Russia in 2012. In Europe they were offered asylum, work, exhibitions. But after seven years of wandering and after dozens of quarrels with curators and human rights activists, forgotten by many, “War” ended up on a boat in Berlin without electricity and water. In January, its founder, Oleg Vorotnikov, disappeared.
Photo: Art-group "Voina"
Their former comrade-in-arms Pyotr Verzilov recalls that the Thief (this nickname stuck with Vorotnikov) spoke with pride about the way of life of “War”: "We are worse than gypsies". Activist Artem Chapaev, a Moscow friend with whom they lived for a long time, also calls them typical nomads.
They could steal delicacies according to the list compiled by the owners of the "entries", stocked the refrigerator, and themselves ate whatever they found. Porridge with leftover fish and vegetables, a mattress in the corner, overnight stays in the garage where the owner turned off the heating - these are things that are important for the image of “War.”
“Organize your life as an art, according to your own principles, but all these left-wing, right-wing, fascist, anti-fascist, opposition or pro-Putin ideas are not important at all.”
Vorotnikov, according to friends, accumulated 700 liters of pig feces on a farm near Moscow and was toying with the idea of renting a sewer truck to flood the Cathedral of Christ the Savior with it. They wanted to rent a sprinkler from the Mosfilm film studio.
This was one of Vorotnikov’s initiatives, which was sabotaged by Verzilov and Tolokonnikova. After several conflicts, the artists quarreled, and in the spring of 2010, Vorotnikov and his wife left to create in St. Petersburg. A month later, a 65-meter image of a male genital organ appeared on the Liteiny Bridge in St. Petersburg. At night, when the bridge was raised, the drawing rose in front of the FSB building.
In September 2010, “War” staged a “Palace Coup” in St. Petersburg, overturning several police cars. For this action, [Leonid] Nikolaev and Vorotnikov were charged with hooliganism and sent to a pre-trial detention center, but in February 2011 they were released on bail. Vorotnikov and Nikolaev emerged from the St. Petersburg pre-trial detention center on their own recognizance as stars.
“We thought that by leaving prison we would increase the number of supporters, but it turned out that everyone, on the contrary, fled, and even stealing became difficult - you go into a mushnik (that’s the name of the store in Voina slang), and they recognize you there.”
In 2012, the famous Polish action artist Artur Żmijewski invited Vorotnikov and Sokol to curate the Biennale of Contemporary Art in Berlin. “Voina” demanded that a contract be concluded for 11-month-old Kasper, and offered to consider illegal entry into the European Union with a baby in her arms as her contribution to the event - shortly before the trip, Koza gave birth to a daughter, Mama.
“We wanted to be serious: illegally crossing with documentation, and then post these recordings at the Biennale with the words: “Here you go, they wanted to catch us, but that didn’t happen!”
At the negotiations in Minsk, Zhmievsky was not satisfied with their proposal, and after consulting with lawyers, he refused to participate in the action.
As a result, after five months, “War” in a truncated composition (Leonid Nikolaev returned to Russia) came to Berlin on its own. They were able to cross the borders of the European Union with two children, being wanted in Russia, without passports or visas. According to Vorotnikov, certain Ukrainian “authorities”, fans of the work of “War,” helped them organize the “corridor.”
Having reached the Biennale, they proposed new actions to the organizers. Among them is the “Free Supermarket”: 20 activists go to the store every day of the exhibition, as if they were working, from 8:00 to 17:00 and steal expensive alcohol, caviar, and other “elite food”, and then lay it out in the pavilion, where Anyone can take it.
“Zhmievsky liked the idea at first. But again they decided to consult with lawyers. I then told them: “Why did you call us? Well, continue with your decorative antics." Zhmievsky declared that he was a law-abiding citizen. We had a fight and left."
They began to prepare the trip back. “But the “corridor” along which we left was closed, says the Thief. – The delay was a tactical mistake. We did not use the departure as a new springboard, but hid our existence. As a result, we are now being asked the question: “Do we exist?”.
“In general, Vor was determined to transfer the actions of “War” to European soil, making them even more radical, to engage in direct action,” says their friend, artist and LGBT activist Maria Stern, an agender who calls herself Gray Violet and speaks of herself in the neuter gender "But I didn't find like-minded people there. European artists are fighting injustice by hanging a picture of a child from Africa in their brand new gallery."
From Germany, the family was invited to Austria. “Back then they made a big bet on us. They expected us to break down and talk shit about Russia.”, says Koza. Human rights activists found them a two-story apartment in the center of Vienna.
“We lived in an apartment like Vasilyeva’s (convicted in a high-profile case of financial fraud in the Russian Ministry of Defense - BBC). P**** [horror] is simple,” Vorotnikov laughs. “We didn’t know what to do.” with a five-room apartment with a jacuzzi, so we had a bicycle room and a dressing room - but not like Ksenia Sobchak, but just f***ing [all] piled up to the ceiling with f***ing [stolen] clothes."
In the spring of 2014, they were invited to Amsterdam to participate in the OpenBorder festival in a huge Catholic church. In a letter to Vorotnikov and Sokol, the organizers said that this exhibition is about the Iron Curtain that will soon fall in Russia, an event criticizing the annexation of Crimea and pressure on the liberal media. The artists responded with a categorical refusal.
“The Voina group takes a fundamentally different, opposite position on Crimea,” said Vorotnikov, an old national leader and admirer of Eduard Limonov, in a response letter. “We are happy that Crimea joined Russia, and we are happy for the Crimeans. I am so simply proud of the country, for the first time in a long time. That's not all. For years I have been talking about the unprofessionalism of the liberal media - Lenta.ru and Dozhd in particular. And I finally welcomed their belated shrinking."
The festival organizers refused to comment to the BBC about their communication with Voina, calling them “very unpleasant people.”
Their neighbor and friend Chapaev recalls one of the “War” actions - an attempt to carry a chicken carcass from a store into the activist’s vagina.
“It was made to cool down the ardor of the liberal crowd that was too fond of them. It’s a big bummer, they say, we have our own agenda, we don’t need to be included in your program. The same thing with Crimea,” says Chapaev. “Well, and the Thief, of course ", should have assessed the referendum. There is something Leninist for him in the annexation of Crimea, this is his motto: any movement is better than order."
– Why “Crimea is ours”? - I ask Vorotnikov himself.
– We woke up in Vienna. It was a sunny morning. I read in the news about the results of the referendum. I was in such a joyful mood. I started reading the reaction of liberals. And he imagined: I wake up and start moaning: “How? Has Crimea become Russian?” What? Well, fuck [nightmare]! I realized that I don't have such feelings. I liked it.
On April 30, the organizers of the Dutch festival, according to Sokol, sent correspondence about Crimea to European art curators. When asked by the BBC to confirm or deny these words by Sokol, the festival organizers responded: “No comment.” The apartment in Vienna was asked to be vacated for renovation. A week later, the actionists were already traveling on the Vienna-Venice train.
According to legend, the Thief began to steal when, as a student, he scattered a pack of rice, bought with his last money. Later this became the ideology of "War". For them, stealing from chain hypermarkets is a way of fighting capitalism, in which food prices are supposedly deliberately inflated, making food unaffordable for many. But in Europe such anarchist ideas are sharply condemned. For shoplifting, artists face prison sentences ranging from a week to eight years.
However, in the entire history of Voina, activists have never been convicted of theft. In St. Petersburg, in cases of failure, they fought with the guards; in Europe this did not happen. Stony faces, expensive clothes, a baby stroller, the hood of which is convenient for stuffing food into – it’s hard to suspect them.
On a winter evening in Berlin in 2018, in response to my questions, they enter an expensive wine boutique with the words “Come with us.” Thank you, I say, I’d rather stand here with the stroller. A minute later the parents return with a bottle of Italian red.
“The secret of the elusiveness of “War” is speed. 23 seconds for a dick on a bridge, nine seconds for a paddy wagon,” the Thief answers my surprised look. “The first two minutes the guard doesn’t notice you and you can do whatever you want. This also works at protests.” , and in mushniki." According to him, the family "takes out about 400 euros each time, and that's without wine."“I don’t understand what everyone is so afraid of. And shares, and theft,” Vorotnikov argues. “It’s all just done, it’s not playing chess games. Everyone says that we are **** screwed up. But we steal every day, we physically cannot allow ourselves to be f***ed [going] - this business requires a cold mind, concentration, attentiveness. In fact, everyone wants to steal, but everyone is f***ed [afraid]."
They filled the freezer in the squat with kilogram packs of expensive Movenpick ice cream. The youngest, Trinity, is so used to seafood in Switzerland that now she eats dumplings like mussels: she tears the dough, puts it on an empty plate, and eats the filling. Kids can ride their skateboards into an Adidas store, put on trendy hats and leave without breaking the price tags.
Photo: Art-group "Voina"
“War” lays out everything stolen, photographs it and posts it on Facebook and Instagram with a detailed description of what region the apples are from, how much the sheep’s cheese costs, and what kind of mysterious berries are in that box. Some people read carefully to the end, others are breathless with indignation, but few remain indifferent.
In the summer of 2014, anarchists in Venice, unfamiliar with these art historical displays, were angry that guests were stealing delicacies from neighboring shops. The Thief and Koza responded by calling their palazzo a drug den, and the Italian anarchists themselves as drug dealers.
In addition, the owners of the squat in Venice were infuriated by the forced documentation of their life. And “War” has been constantly filming, recording and taking photographs throughout its entire life, as an artistic action. The archive is a sacred thing for them, and when they move, it is its loss that they lament the most.
As a result, the forced eviction of “War” ended in a fight with anarchists on the Incurable Embankment, glorified by Brodsky, and in the palazzo itself. The tourists called the police.
Photo: Art-group "Voina"
Vorotnikov was first taken to the hospital, where his broken head was stitched up, and from there he was taken to arrest at the request of Interpol: he was then wanted for spraying urine on police officers at the “March of Dissent” on March 31, 2011 in St. Petersburg.
Photo: Art-group "Voina"
Due to the attention of the Italian media to the "War", the anarchists had to issue an explanatory press release: “It became obvious that their lifestyle was incompatible with our principles of trust, respect and mutual assistance towards those with whom you live.”.
While the Thief was sitting in a Venetian pre-trial detention center, a palazzo with a mosaic floor, a pregnant Goat with two children slept under a tree near the church. This is how “War” found itself on the street for the first time, which was then repeated more than once.
On New Year's Eve 2015, they found themselves in Rome, with a cold, they broke into the first barn they came across and lay there on rags with a temperature of 40 degrees. Every morning at 8:00 am, its owner, a retiree, drove up to the barn in an old Buick.
“She took all four of us to hostels and shelters in the hope of getting rid of it, but at the sight of the heavily pregnant Goat, no one would take us,” recalls Vor. “At that time we wrote letters to everyone in search of registration. We signed up for Cabaret Voltaire (the legendary club -cafe in Switzerland, considered the birthplace of Dadaism - BBC) in Zurich and our Swiss history began."
According to Gray Violet, Russian actionists, including those from “War”, again brought open and untamed modern art to the vastness of Europe - artistic laziness of direct action:
“This is laziness and refusal, not reducible to peaceful coexistence with capitalism, subject to the prosperity and well-being of the art scene or the marginal anonymity of anarchist communities - but open, suggesting a readiness for direct confrontation.”
It puts the life of “War” on a par with the performances at Western exhibitions of Oleg Kulik and Alexander Brener, who furiously argued with the organizers. But they are more radical, says the art critic:
“The group has renounced refugee status, ignores state borders and bureaucracy, and steals only what is most precious. They are true practitioners of laziness and abandonment, consistently turning their entire lifestyle into an artistic act.”
In April 2015, Trinity was born in Basel - the third child of “War”. The goat always gave birth without doctors, and the artists turned the whole process into an action: they filmed, photographed, and posted it on the Internet. And the placenta that Kasper fed on was stored in Chapaev’s freezer for five years. He only threw it out when he rented out the apartment before leaving for Asia.
In May 2015, three days after Trinity was born, the family found housing. Through the mediation of Adrian Notz, director of Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, “War” was accommodated in the attic of a house on Wasserstrasse, a squat occupied by local anarchists and leftists. Here, in addition to the usual sidelong glances from neighbors because of a freezer full of Movenpick, problems with children began.
Photo: Art-group "Voina"
“When we were seen in Switzerland after 20:00 with a stroller on the street, passersby stopped and asked what happened to us, twisting their finger at our temple,” says Koza.
“Children here are so terribly marginalized as anywhere else in Russia. Having a child in the West is an aggravating circumstance,” Vorotnikov is sure for some reason. “We make no more noise than any family with three children. But you must keep your child in check , so that it would be convenient for the fat neighbor to watch TV. I don't give a damn. The gay couple living below us complained because the children were running around the apartment during the day. If a child pressed the wrong button in the elevator, they can "He'll grab him by the hand and start yelling at him. But we won't tolerate this. They integrate their children into the system from birth. And then Europeans always ask why your children are so cheerful, because your life is such a difficult one."
The residents of the house thought that refugees from Russia would live there for a couple of days and go to a migrant camp to ask for asylum. Which was still not part of the “War” plans. As follows from police reports, a year later the Swiss realized that Russian artists did not intend to “fit into the system,” and scandals began. The children of “War” were accused of stealing toilet paper; the neighbors did not like the noise at night and dirty dishes in the shared kitchen.
In Switzerland, "War" again turned out to be too anarchist. The Russians, for their part, considered the Baselians to be conformists.
“The war” has brought the situation to the point of absurdity, wrote the local newspaper Schweiz am Wochenende. “They occupied an already occupied house.” We created our own squat within a squat. Neighbors, who recently actively fought the police, have repeatedly threatened them with calling the same police.”
At a general house meeting, they decided to evict the migrants by force. And they announced this to their guests in advance, advising them to leave for a deportation camp.
Photo: Art-group "Voina"
In fact, by this time “War” was already thinking about asking for asylum. But the Thief and the Goat did not want to end up in the camp with the children. According to Gray Violet, who then lived nearby and often communicated with Voina, in March Vorotnikov’s mother came to visit them in Basel from the Tula region. The actionists asked her to live in Switzerland with her grandchildren while they themselves sat in the camp and waited for the authorities’ decision. But the grandmother of Casper, Mom and Trinity refused. The thief caused a scandal. Vorotnikov's loud night-time quarrel with his mother in Basel was the last straw in the patience of their neighbors.
On March 16, 10 people who had repeatedly participated in street riots in Europe went up to the attic where Vor, Koza and the children lived. In their hands they held wooden shields, sticks and gas canisters. They did not know that “War” was preparing for the attack by turning on a security camera in advance. The video from it became the main evidence in the trial of the attackers.
A fight broke out with Vorotnikov, they poured gas on his face and tied his hands and feet; Sokol was dragged out of the apartment by his hair. The crying children hid in a rocket tent, where the Swiss anarchists threw a trash can and a couple of logs, and then pulled the children out one by one and sent them outside. Nine-month-old Trinity, naked for a bath, was placed in a stroller. The rest of the activists walked around the apartment, collecting laptops and tablets. Someone called the police.
The Basel prosecutor's office opened a criminal case. A year later, seven of the attackers were sentenced to suspended sentences of up to a year, the rest were acquitted. “War” ended up in a migrant camp after being evicted.
In Switzerland, this is a former underground air-raid shelter with three-story bunks in 4 by 4 meter rooms without windows. You can leave from 9:00 to 18:00; everyone is searched at the entrance every time, including children.
Photo: Art-group "Voina"
The family was supposed to remain in the center until their application for asylum was considered. Such decisions can be made within a year or a year and a half. The claustrophobic goat called the place a concentration camp. And three days later, “War” escaped again.
They left for Nuremberg, where, at the request of friends, they were sheltered by a 40-year-old lonely Nazi. But the relationship did not work out from the very beginning. Vorotnikov, declaring himself an anti-fascist, refused to shake his hand or talk to him.
The actionists went to the Czech Republic, where they lived in seven different cities. There they managed to quarrel with the most famous art group “One Hundred Shit”, whose liberal-minded members did not understand why Vorotnikov was stealing the most expensive pork ham from the store if they had agreed with the sellers to issue products that were a couple of days out of date.
The leader of the group also wrote indignantly on his Facebook that his charges took money from him, but continued to steal. “War” was kicked out into the streets again. Czech actionists refused to talk to the BBC about Russian artists. A sharp “No comment” is the most popular answer from people you try to ask about the essence of conflicts with “War”.
After Vorotnikov was detained again by the migration police on September 21, 2016, when the fate of Russian artists was discussed throughout the Czech Republic, one of the most popular politicians in the country, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, philanthropist, liberal and Count Karel Schwarzenberg, stood up for him. “Extradition would be a crime, I’d rather hide Oleg Vorotnikov and the children at home,” he told reporters.
And the day after the invitation, a scandalous interview with the leader of Voina was published in Czech newspapers, in which, among other things, he said: “What a wonderful country Czechoslovakia was! And America turned the Czechs into currency prostitutes. Once you had a high culture, good, clean humor, but now what? The Czech Republic is stuck in the 90s. You never got out of them.”.
“I said such hell there,” Vorotnikov laughs. “The translator, in horror, offered to take back his words, they say, they laughed and okay. And I tell him, how come, I tried! The next day it all came out and complete hell broke out in our life. Everyone refused us, the lawyers did not answer, they began to write that we are not a real “War”, that we rob and kill."
But Count Schwarzenberg kept his promise, and “War” lived for several months in his 13th-century Eagle’s Nest castle, one of the main tourist attractions in the south of the Czech Republic. Half of the castle was open to visitors, and they lived in the other half.
The second castle nearby, in Chimelitsa, was given to the artists as a studio. Peacocks walked under the windows. There were no conflicts this time. Once they were left a note asking them to wash the dishes. But in January, the artists moved to the center of Prague - according to them, to send Kasper to school.
The gypsy baron gave them an apartment on Old Town Square. They became friends with him because of their advocacy for the closure of a pig farm that operated on the site of a concentration camp for gypsies on the Schwarzenberg land.
Photo: Art-group "Voina"
According to the artists, the apartment was monitored from the very beginning, and when Vorotnikov was put on the national wanted list in the Czech Republic in March 2017 on a request for extradition to Russia, “Voina” moved into an abandoned house in a Roma ghetto. And then she left the country. “From then on, our fucking [arduous] wanderings began.”, says Koza.
After warnings about the "inadequate nature of the "War" that angry Italian anarchists, Swiss human rights activists and leftists issued to all organizations in Europe, they were refused even by those who initially agreed to help. The squat in Berlin, where they came from the forests surrounding Leipzig, was the last a full-fledged place for them to live in. A month later they were kicked out.
Europe Vorotnikov was disappointed.
“The Czechs are complete fuckers [imbeciles], village fascists, everyone goes to bed at 21:00, I once had to call a person, and a friend told me: “What are you saying, it’s 21:04, it’s no longer possible” "We had a fight,” he mutters. “Italy is a beautiful country, only the people there are f*cking [stupid]. They jump around these ruins like monkeys. The Romans are not far away. The Germans are not the worst, but there is one rule: if you end up in a German system and if you disobey even once, then you will have a very bad time.”
In December 2017, the artists walked into a Berlin cafe asking if anyone had a place to stay for the night. One of the visitors took them to the pier and showed them a boat covered with a tarpaulin. There "War" remained until the frost hit.
Photo: Art-group "Voina"
At night, the actionists covered themselves with an old theater curtain. To wash himself, the Thief dived into the river. At this time, an American director was with them in Berlin, making a documentary about the artists. Together they broke into a janitor's room in the courtyard of one of the residential complexes and celebrated the New Year 2018 there.
“What do some imitators of artists in Russia not understand? That a real prisoner must strive for freedom. You can go to prison if you are caught. You cannot go to prison voluntarily. Freedom is above all. You won’t catch the “war” ***.” War is "elusive".
Vorotnikov and Sokol are clearly proud that they have preserved the original ideology and way of life of the group. So, seven years after the split, it became clear that “War” was divided not into Moscow and St. Petersburg factions, but into anarchist and commercial ones.
“These b****s [whores] sold out and went to prison for the sake of media effect, it was very sad to watch,” adds Koza, referring to the Pussy Riot members who were sentenced to two years. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova refused to talk to the BBC about former comrades, explaining this by the desire to “do no harm.”“Understand, the Voina group are two f***ing [frostbitten] people who kicked everyone into doing actions. Few people could stand more than one action. Our people ran away right in the middle of the action, can you imagine? So we don’t have any friends.” it wasn’t in Russia. We never really communicated with anyone. We f***ed [scolded] everyone."
– You are classic holy fools.
- It's too primitive. We are great artists. European anarchists live in social housing and receive welfare. And we are Makhnovists, filibusters.
“Vor takes help from others as a matter of course. At the same time, he pushes people away with contempt. They allow everything for children, no restrictions,” recalls journalist Pavel Grinshpun, who worked with Voina. “And you can’t expect any gratitude from them. In many ways, this the reason for the domestic and legal nightmare in which they live. This strange mix of arrogance, wild confidence that the world owes them, not without charm. There is something religious in this, this is their way of the cross."
At the end of our meeting in Berlin, Vorotnikov said goodbye: “I have a feeling that something bad will happen soon.” Two weeks later, after a confrontation with the police, which was called by residents of the house with a janitor, he disappeared. To find out if Vorotnikov was in the pre-trial detention center in Berlin, those who sympathized with the fate of “War” transferred 10 euros to the detention center in his name. The money was returned to the account with the note “Addressee not identified.” The goat remained on the boat with three children.
Photo: Art-group "Voina"
They sleep in outerwear, and in the morning they go to McDonald's to warm up, and spend their evenings in the laundry room. Koza still photographs all the ordeals and posts them on his Facebook page. A week later, Russian emigrants living in Berlin began to discuss the issue of calling the guardianship authorities and removing the children.
Koza collected a continuous text from the comments and posted it in a separate post under the heading “Denunciation of the Russian emigrant of the fifth wave against the Voina group to the children’s Gestapo.” She wrote an appeal to the Russian Children's Ombudsman Anna Kuznetsova, went on air with Andrei Malakhov and gives interviews to Russian and German newspapers.
Text: Olesya Gerasimenko, BBC Russian Service