Police investigate graffiti of crucified Gagarin
Police in the city of Perm, located near the Ural Mountains in the western part of Russia, have started an investigation connected with a graffiti image of a crucified Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet cosmonaut and first man in space. The graffiti appeared on the wall of a Perm building on the night of April 11. The image has since been erased.
Alexander Zhunev, who created the image, said that police officers came to his home when he was not there. The graffiti artist said he believes he may end up facing vandalism charges.
In answer to a question about the possible reaction of religious people to the image, Zhunev said that “Orthodox Christians haven’t come forth, anger came more from people on the Internet who aren’t connected to the church or to science, but who really like to get offended.”
“I’m not trying to get away with anything! There’s more graffiti here, and that’s also vandalism, but the law works in such a way that the fines are not as serious as the results… The idea is more valuable than the punishment.”
- On April 12, Russians celebrated Eastern Orthodox Easter, which coincided this year with National Cosmonautics Day, the anniversary of the first manned space flight made by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
- Graffiti artist Alexander Zhunev explained, “I found this coincidence to be very symbolic, since the sciences and religion stood on opposing sides of the barricades for a very ling time, trying to win their share of influence over the minds of people. The work ‘Gagarin. Crucifixion’ is my attempt to express myself on the topic of this centuries-old confrontation using the language of modern art.”
- Several federal laws criminalizing offenses towards religious feelings were passed in Russia since 2013. On June 30, 2013, a law was passed to counteract offenses against citizens’ religious convictions and feelings, and against the desecration of facilities and items of religious veneration. The law came into effect despite opposition from the Supreme Court of Russia and from the Presidential Council on Human Rights.