“The”scandal if we are not allowed to stay in Sweden””
“Pussy Riot-the pair fled from the threats and violence in Putin’s Russia – now they can be forced back.”
“This is a kulturartikel which is a part of Aftonbladet’s opinionsjournalistik.”
“We are in a refugee residents, a studio apartment with a kitchen in a small village five miles outside Örebro. A large oil painting depicting Lusine Djanjan in his red balaclava stands along the short edge of the wall. Lusine standing in front of it with his youngest son Levon in his arms, he was born here in Sweden in september. Above the sofa, where Lusines husband Alexei Knedljakovskij and I sit down, hang children’s drawings of the elder son, four-year-old Tigran, next to paintings of the members of Pussy Riot. At a small table next to us sits Tigran and draws, he draws houses and maps.”
“Here they have lived since april, 2017. Mother Lusine is internationally established artist and a member of the feminist punk – art collective Pussy Riot. Father Alexei is known for its spectacular performance art and to be one of the few male members of the same collective.”
“Pussy Riot formed in 2011 by the philosopher and konstnärsaktivisten Nadja Tolokonnikova. The following year they conducted their now world-famous Putinkritiska punk prayer in the christ the saviour cathedral in Moscow. Two of the members, Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, were sentenced to two years in prison for hooliganism – a stretchy section that is often used to silence Putin’s critics. “
“When was serving his sentence went Lusine, Alexei and others in Pussy Riot to ”Mordovlag”, a prison camp 50 miles southeast of Moscow, on the same place as the soviet Gulag, and organised an artistic protest during a month. Within the walls of kurdish hunger strikers Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina and received a letter utsmugglade to the rest of the world that testified to slavlika conditions.”
“Lusines activism was not of the university in Krasnodar, where she worked as a lecturer in the arts and culture. She got fired.”
“– I worked there for ten years and the last two years were a living hell. The principal and others in high positions, wanted to hurt me. They combed the internet for images of my art, Facebook, and Tweets and said that everything must be erased. They contacted my students and asked them to delete the likes. They hired a connoisseur to look for extremism in my works. Even the media wrote that I was kicked on political grounds.”
“It was impossible for her to exhibit in galleries and museum.”
“After international protests, was pardoned Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina by Putin just before the OLYMPICS in Sochi in 2014. They showed no gratitude but went straight to New York and performed with Madonna on a Amnestygala. Then, they traveled back to Russia and carried out an action in Sochi where also Lusine and Alexei attended.”
“During the ultranationalist cossacks to attack and whipped the artists faced with a passive police force. Alexei got his own guitar battles in the head. The attack was filmed, and the uncomfortable, the clip was spread all over the world. Police arrested Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina again.”
“When Alexei appeared on the street in Krasnodar, and the people I was always afraid, for they did not know if it was the secret police.”
“at Home in the Krasnodar mugged Lusine and Alexei of civilians on the streets and harassed in the media.”
“– They made their way into our home, furnished on and left the footprint, ” says Lusine, while Alexei shows me the photos on the computer of skoavtryck in the stalls.”
“When Lusine was pregnant was attacked she by a man to ”hate Putin”.”
“– At a café in a shopping mall, he started to hit me in the head. It was terrible for he came from behind so I was totally unprepared. When Alexei appeared on the street in Krasnodar, and the people I was always afraid, for they knew not whether it was secret police. They could spray a dark green medical ensure on you that was difficult to wash away. You get it in the eyes, it is very dangerous. If you would hit back they have a reason to arrest you.”
“Alexei has been in the medborgarrättsorganisationen Solidarity and organized manifestations against the government. He was a friend of the liberal opposition leader Boris Nemtsov as the 2015 shot to death a few hundred metres from the Kremlin.”
“– We organized demonstrations against Putin, it gave me the experience to organize activists. It helped me in my art and to express myself. Boris united people from both the right and the left. It was why he was murdered.”
“In an action hung Alexei a cross on the neck of a statue of tjekans (predecessor to the KGB) founder Felix Dzerzhinskij.”
“– In today’s Russia, you have two ideological paths. The one is the religion. The other is a strong leader and power for the secret services, who work in a militia – the people with the power. We have a new religion now, as a new couple. The installation was a picture of how it looks.”
“Alexei was sentenced to 15 days in jail after a trial that lasted six minutes. “
“– It was the maximum penalty but it does not mean that they can not find the new way for a new prosecution for the same offense. During the two months that followed the penalty we faced with the secret police three, four times, ” he says.”
“– When Alexei sat in prison waiting a man outside our house. He asked if I wanted to Tigran would be fosterhemsplacerad. ’You need to think of your children and your future. You have to tell your husband to cease its activities and stop doing all your crazy art against Putin’, says Lusine.”
“They were invited by the friends in human rights organizations to leave Russia. Because they previously exhibited in Sweden had the visa here and fled here in February 2017. After having been moved around in the reception centers they ended up in the village outside Örebro in april of the same year.”
“most Likely, the cause is political. When receiving political refugees from Russia there could be problems in relationships”
“During the asylum process have Lusine and Alexei exhibited in Milan and at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London but not been able to leave Sweden. “
“– We have missed several exhibitions in London. They exhibited our art but we could not go there and help because we are not allowed to leave Sweden, ” says Lusine.”
“In december last year, the refusal of the Swedish migration board on his application for asylum. The authority considers that ”the Russian authorities ‘ actions in the individual events do not constitute persecution in the with chapter sense” and that the Russian authorities have not taken ”any serious disproportionate measures against them”. “
“Themselves believe something else.”
“– most Likely, the cause is political. When receiving political refugees from Russia there could be problems in the relationship, ” says Lusine.”
“the Decision is strange,” she continues. They have ignored the letter from human rights organisations in both Russia and Germany, who writes that it is important that we get the asylum. Normally, they should make research about the region where you come from and not look at Russia as a whole. In the provinces it is more dangerous than in Moscow to be an activist. They only say that in our region is in progress no war. They mean that when we become attacked, it is about a few incidents with civilians that do not need to be gasoline.”
“They have appealed against the decision.”
” We have two weeks to come up with more opinions. We have more letters from human rights organisations and Amnesty International. No one knows how long we will have to wait for the decision of the court, ” says Alexei.”
“Last year was jailed Pyotr Verzilov after he and others in Pussy Riot stormed the pitch during the final of the world CUP. In september was poisoned, and fell sick he shortly after the trial. He was taken to a hospital in Berlin. Today, he is at an undisclosed location outside of Russia.”
“I ask Alexei what happens if he is forced to return to Russia.”
“– They will find a way to get me in prison. I have received the signals about it. They can do things like that to say that you tried to sell drugs, they did this recently with an activist in Pskov. The entire case is a hoax in order to stop his activism, ” says Alexei.”
“Lusine, what happens with you if you go back?”
“– of Course, they have the stuff on me. They have shown pictures of my art and said that they can prosecute me for using slogans which they define as extremism. “
“– we Get no again, it is an international scandal, ” says Alexei.”