Last Friday, the Russian painter Semyon Skrepetsky stood in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin and protested. His body was found in Poland on Monday. Why is this artist murder being ignored at the most important art event, Art Basel?
June 18, 2026, 04:35June 18, 2026, 04:35
The Russian exiled artist protested in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin last Friday.getty
Last Friday, 44-year-old Russian exiled artist Semyon Skrepetsky marched from the Brandenburg Gate to the Russian Embassy in Berlin. He had put on a fur hat and hung many medals like an old Soviet general. He also carried a painting with him. It showed Stalin with a baby Putin on his lap. He demonstratively disposed of a Russian flag at a public trash can.
Three days later, Skrepetsky was dead, shot by multiple bullets. They were fired at close range. One of them hit him in the head. The attack took place in eastern Poland, where the artist and activist lived with his family. Investigators assume some kind of execution. It took place in a parking lot in front of an apartment block in Biala Podlaska, near the border with Belarus. Two Belarusians are now said to be in custody “Guardian” reported. It is currently unclear whether they are the suspects.
The artist fled Putin in 2021
Semyon Skrepetsky’s actual name was Robert Kuzovkow and he came from Siberia. Even before Putin’s attack on Ukraine, he fled Russia in 2021 for fear of political persecution. In addition to the Russian despot, he also caricatured the Belarusian dictator Lukashenko and the bloodthirsty Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. As a contrast, he portrayed the murdered opposition leader Alexei Navalny and Ukrainian President Zelensky.
Russian activist Semyon Skrepetsky disposes of a Russian flag in a trash can in Berlin.Image: AP
Poland is considered a hub for military and other transport to Ukraine. That’s why there are Russian spies in the country who collect knowledge about all kinds of anti-Russian actions. Putin repeatedly has opposition compatriots persecuted and liquidated throughout Europe. However, his power apparatus has so far ignored emigrated resisters from the cultural sector; they were too insignificant for him. That seems to have changed now.
In exiled Russian circles, according to the Guardian, it is assumed that the murder was carried out by Chechen Putin loyalist Kadyrov. Skrepetsky published a painting caricaturing Kadyrov and his son as pigs just two days before his death. Kadyrov is also notorious for tracking down and murdering his critics across national borders.
Does Putin also persecute opponents of the regime in Switzerland?
There is a lot that is frightening about this attack: Apparently Putin’s henchmen in the EU and probably also in Switzerland can pursue their opponents unmolested and, if necessary, hunt them down. Almost all important Russian cultural figures now live in exile because they reject the regime or even explicitly fight it. If they can no longer feel safe in Europe, that is a disgrace for the Western democracies and their secret services.
A little more irritating: Semyon Skrepetsky showed how artistic resistance can be carried out with simple, drastic actions on the street instead of in the museum. His art is reminiscent of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo: he did not tolerate any bans and did not shy away from provocation. He often wore his satirical paintings printed on his T-shirt. He wasn’t a star artist. He wasn’t interested in money or reputation, but rather in protesting against Putin’s despotism and rousing people in the West.
He risked his life for this. He lost it at the beginning of this week – just before the start of Art Basel, the world’s most important art fair. However, the murder of a comparatively unknown Russian artist, who brings hardly any money into the gallery owners’ coffers, seems to receive little attention there. And for the illustrious art bubble in Basel, even a minute’s silence for the murdered Semyon Skrepetsky would be a complete waste of time. It’s better to celebrate yourself and hope to soon be able to sell paintings to Putin’s oligarchs again. (schweiztoday.ch)