Biennale Arte, Tolokonnikova arriving in Venice: meetings with great collectors for the campaign for political prisoners at the Russia 2028 Pavilion

Nadia Tolokonnikova, one of the founders of the Russian activist collective Pussy Riot, is arriving in Venice where her protest action against the reopening of the Russian Pavilion as part of the 61st International Art Exhibition is anticipated. During the preview days of the Exhibition this week, Tolokonnikova anticipates to Adnkronos, the activist will meet some important collectors, as part of the campaign she started together with others to represent political prisoners at the Russian Pavilion at the 2028 Exhibition, with works by political prisoners and former political prisoners.

Also as a representative of the Platform for dialogue with the Russian democratic forces in exile created in recent months by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the activist then asked for an interview with the former governor of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, the mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro and the President of the Biennale Foundation Pietrangelo Buttafuoco. At the moment, only Zaia seems to have expressed a willingness to dialogue.

Tolokonnikova was a political prisoner after being sentenced to two years in prison with Maria Alyokhina and Eekaterina Samutsevich for taking part in Pussy Riot’s performance against Vladimir Putin at the Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow in February 2012. Last December, Pussy Riot was designated an extremist organization by a Moscow court following a closed-door hearing. Tolokonnikova, who left Russia some time ago, has been on the list of ‘foreign agents’ since 2021. She is now wanted for violating the rules for foreign agents and for publicly offending the religious feelings of believers.

By Editor

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