Joke has no place in the city: comment by Ksenia Sergazina

We are publishing a commentary by religious scholar and expert at the SOVA Center Ksenia Sergazina, dedicated to the initiation of an administrative case in connection with the placement of graffiti “Gagarin” on the street of Perm. Crucifixion."

At the beginning of June 2015, it became known that an administrative case was initiated against the Perm artist Alexander Zhunev, who placed images of the “crucified” Gagarin on one of the walls of a Perm high-rise building. 20.1 Code of Administrative Offenses (petty hooliganism). For defenders of the feelings of believers, the first of whom was the vice-speaker of the Perm City Duma, Yuri Utkin, who contacted the prosecutor’s office the day after the appearance of “Gagarin,” a potential fine is a minor punishment. However, for everyone else - journalists, theater workers, artists - equating street art with swearing on city streets, harassing passers-by and other actions “expressing clear disrespect for society” (and this is exactly how the law understands “petty hooliganism”) is bad a symptom indicating the disease of society itself. There is no place for jokes in the city.

The graffiti was created on April 12, 2015, Easter Sunday, which coincided with Cosmonautics Day this year. Let us remember how A. Zhunev comments on his creation: “ On April 12, there were two big holidays at once: Cosmonautics Day and Easter. This confluence of calendar circumstances is very symbolic .” Does this mean that his act is anti-Christian? No, its author lives and acts in the space of Christian symbols, it is Christian symbols that are the basis of his “collage”, it is the Christian idea behind it - the protection of the weak (in this case, the unjustly injured director of "Tannhäuser").

“ In the studio, I drew a picture on paper, then cut it out and glued it to the wall of the house on Sovetskaya, 66 ,” says the author of the “crucified” Gagarin. - I liked this wall: smooth, light! There is a lot of talk about Tannhäuser now, and I wanted to show that all the hardships of life must be accepted with one’s head bowed. Gagarin is a modern Jesus of science, who voluntarily took upon himself the first cosmic torment of humanity. The craving for the stars pulled him with bolts to the steel cross. And he became a superstar - like Jesus Christ! His image is used by the state as an icon of patriotism ."

Residents of the city were outraged not by the image of Gagarin on the wall itself - almost a year ago, in the spring of 2014, A. Zhunev made a sculpture of an astronaut sitting on a tree, which did not cause such a resonance. It was the combination of “sacred” images from different cultures that outraged me—syncretism, if you will. One of the Perm residents said this directly: “ Gagarin is our pride, Jesus Christ is our sacred thing. Mixing these things: both those and other worthy ones is unacceptable .” This remark shows how close Gagarin is to the people. And therefore it is not at all about the feelings of believers. Rather, it is about rejection of the Other. About someone's freedom of choice. About someone's happiness. About erasing all boundaries - it is acceptable in childhood and in heaven, not here. Here it is “hooliganism”, “disrespect for society”.

For lawyers - especially those who study the history of Russian law - the case of the “crucified” Gagarin is no longer a symptom, but a mystery. They wanted to condemn the author of the graffiti as a vandal; his action was considered an insult to the feelings of believers, but for some reason the case was opened under the article “hooliganism.” It’s as if numerous disputes around the law on “feelings of believers” have imposed an unspoken taboo on the application of Art. 5.26 Code of Administrative Offences.