Organizers of a pro-Pussy Riot art show faced questioning Tuesday, as pressure grew against supporters of the punk band.
Investigators said Tuesday that they were questioning painters Yevgenia Maltseva and Viktor Bondarenko — organizers of the current exhibition "Spiritual Combat" at the Guelman Gallery — on suspicion of inciting religious hatred, the Investigative Committee
The exhibition, which was inspired by Pussy Riot and combines Russian Orthodox imagery with slogans supporting the band, has been running at the gallery at the Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art since Sept. 20. It ends Friday.
Investigators have not opened a criminal case regarding the exhibition but are conducting a preliminary probe upon the request of prosecutors in Moscow's Basmanny district, where the gallery is located.
Late last month, lawyer Yevgeny Mazepin asked Moscow prosecutor Sergei Kudeneyev to examine the exhibition for signs of religious hatred. Mazepin
Inciting religious hatred, according to Criminal Code Article 282, Part 1, which investigators are considering in this instance, is punishable by up to two years in prison.
On Monday, Konstantin Goloskokov, coordinator of the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi, asked police to question opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta reporter Yelena Kostyuchenko about the two Pussy Riot musicians who reportedly fled the country because they feared prosecution.
Goloskokov
Kostyuchenko said by telephone Tuesday that she didn't coordinate Pussy Riot's actions but made reports about them.
On Tuesday, blogger Viktor Levanov
The first post accusing Volkova of involvement in corporate raids was made by Nashi spokeswoman Kristina Potupchik in late September. At the time, Volkova denied the accusations.
Independent pollster Levada Center on Tuesday released a public opinion survey that
The poll was conducted among 1,600 Russians in 45 regions in late September. Its margin of error was 3.4 percentage points.
Irina Yarovaya, a senior State Duma deputy with United Russia,
Feigin is identified on Solidarity's
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