Russia's Hermitage Museum denounces blasphemy investigation

December 10, 2012|Reuters

* British brothers' show under fire from conservatives

* Jailed Pussy Riot members faced similar allegations

By Alexei Anishchuk

MOSCOW, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's renowned
Hermitage Museum accused Russian authorities on Monday of
fostering "mob rule" in taking up complaints by Russian Orthodox
Christians over a British exhibit they said injured religious

The row coincides with a surge in religious, nationalist
sentiment in Russia, with President Vladimir Putin moving closer
to the Orthodox Church to consolidate his support after facing

The display, entitled "The End of Fun" and launched in the
St Petersburg museum in October, includes figurines draped with
Nazi insignia and a crucified Ronald McDonald, the mascot of the
McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain.

It has drawn over 100 complaints and state prosecutors are
checking whether it violates a law against incitement to hatred,
under which two members of the Pussy Riot punk protest band
opposed to President Vladimir Putin were jailed.

"This (investigation) is an attempt to dictate conditions to
us by mob rule and we should not allow this," said Mikhail
Piotrovsky, the director of Hermitage, one of the world's oldest
and biggest museums.

Prosecutors acted after receiving complaints from visitors
who said the exhibition by British artists Jake and Dinos
Chapman offended the feelings of Russian Orthodox Christians.

"You can't force a celebrated actor to cancel his show just
feelings," Piotrovsky told Reuters on the sidelines of a
conference in Moscow. "Art has its own language, one needs to
understand it. If you don't get it, just step aside."

The Hermitage Museum is housed in buildings including the
Winter Palace, a former residence of the Russian emperors, and
is now owned by the state.


The Hermitage website describes the centrepiece of the
Chapman brothers' display as a "three-dimensional collage
consisting of miniature plastic figures ... arranged in such a
way that it resembles a (Nazi) swastika from above".

"In the display cases, a single landscape of hell unfolds in
which the figures ceaselessly kill one another with diabolical
dioramas, the artists strive to cure society of that cruelty."

The museum's website said the exhibit belonged to a
"Disasters of War" genre and that it was not suitable for
viewing by anyone younger than 18.

Traditional religious conservatism has revived markedly in
public since Pussy Riot members burst into a Russian Orthodox
cathedral in Moscow in February and, dressed in short dresses
and colourful ski masks, performed a protest song against
Putin's close ties with the church.

The two-year prison sentences handed down to two members of
protest outraged many Russian Orthodox Christians and stirred a
debate over the state of society in Russia.

Since the Pussy Riot trial this summer, Russian lawmakers
allied to Putin have called for the introduction of jail
sentences for people found guilty of offending religious

Critics say the law would blur the line between the state
a clampdown on dissent and civil liberties since Putin began a

Among other prominent instances of conservative Russians
trying to protect their beliefs in court, American pop singer
Madonna was sued by a group of Russians for spreading gay
"propaganda" when she gave a concert in St Petersburg in August.
The case was eventually thrown out.

The launch of patrols in Moscow by cossacks has also been
widely interpreted as a result of Putin's calls for patriotism
and his promotion of Russian traditions.

(Editing by Timothy Heritage and Mark Heinrich)