Activists from radical art group Voina hung a banner depicting their leader Oleg Vorotnikov behind bars from London's Tower Bridge on Sunday, but British police removed the banner within minutes.
Police stepped in after being alerted by bridge authorities, the BBC's Russian Service reported. The banner, which was emblazoned with the words "Voina Wanted," is part of an art project called Urban Interventions run by a group of international artists and photographers in London.
According to Mike Castle, one of the technicians at Tower Bridge, attempts to organize provocative stunts on the bridge are common, but they are stopped quickly.
After being foiled by police, Voina activists hung their banner — which measures several stories in height — from the building of London's Architectural Association School of Architecture, which supports the Urban Interventions project.
Among other stunts planned as part of the London-based project, huge balaclavas will be placed on a variety of sculptures and monuments throughout the city, including on a bust on the grave of Karl Max in Highgate Cemetery.
Voina has a history for staging controversial stunts and has had a number of brushes with Russian authorities.
In June 2010, Voina activists painted a 65-meter penis on a bridge in St. Petersburg that faces a local FSB building. The group was later honored with a prize for innovation, sparking a scandal.
