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Vandalism of Russian Art Through History

Ilya Repin's painting of Ivan the Terrible cradling the son he has just mortally wounded has stirred ire several times. It was not allowed to be shown in Russia during the reign of Alexander III. In 1913, an Old Believer icon painter slashed it. In 2013 an Orthodox Christian group petitioned to have it taken off the walls of the Tretyakov Gallery, since it distorted historical facts. And finally, on Friday evening a man from Voronezh threw a metal stanchion at the glass-covered painting, cutting through the canvas in three places. Wikicommons
In 1885 two paintings by Vasily Vereschagin, "The Holy Family" and "The Resurrection," were exhibited in Vienna after being banned in Russia. Church and state authorities believed they did not show the sacred nature of Christ. An enraged priest splashed both canvases with acid, destroying them beyond repair. Public Domain
In 1985 a Lithuanian man threw acid and then cut Rembrandt's "Danae" in the Hermitage Museum "for political reasons." He was diagnosed as mentally ill and sentenced to mandatory incarceration in a psychiatric hospital for six years. Public Domain
Twice a member of South East Radical Block (SERB) poured urine on photographs by Jock Sturges at the Lumiere Brothers Photography Center in Moscow, calling them pornographic. Valery Sharifulin / TASS
In August 2015 two activists from the "God's Will" group damaged works by Vadim Sidur and Megasoma Mars at an exhibit at the Manege. They were later fined 1,000 rubles. Sergei Vedyashkin / Moskva News Agency
In Voronezh the Soviet star was painted with an image of Patrick from SpongeBob SquarePants. Vladimir Malder
Monuments to Vladimir Lenin are a frequent objects of vandalism, here in Tver (2011) and in Saint-Petersburg (2017). Vkontakte

The vandalism of the famous painting of Ilya Repin, "Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan, 16 November 1581" was a shocking incident, but not an isolated case. That particular painting had been both banished and slashed in the past. And other works of Russian art have been destroyed or damaged for political and religious reasons. Most of the cases were heinous. A few were perhaps less vengeful — but not less expensive to repair. 

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