Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the nearby Liteyny Bridge, which, when the bridge was raised, made a very clear
statement towards the FSB.
CASUALTIES OF WAR
Art collective Voina ('War') have long enjoyed something of a cult following in
Russia for pulling a series of stunts with subversive messages and - very un-
usually for modern Russia - a strong political edge. Previously in Moscow their
members threw homeless cats over the counter of McDonald's 'to help snap the
workers out of the dull routine of menial labour', and in St Petersburg their mem-
bers had overturned police cars as a protest against ingrained corruption.
But on the night of 14 June 2010, the group took on the ultimate force in mod-
ern Russia, the Federal Security Bureau (FSB, the post-Soviet name for the
KGB) to wonderful, comic effect. Members painted a 63m-long penis on the sur-
face of the Liteyny Bridge, which then rose that evening, erecting the phallus
ance to an organisation that still exercises enormous power in Russia. Voina
quickly became global art stars, a status confirmed by British street artist Banksy
pledging money to bail out members of the group subsequently arrested in
November 2010.
The absurdity doesn't end there. Despite their obvious anti-establishment
message, Voina received the Russian government's own Innovation 2011 award
at the same time that several of its members were being tried for disorder of-
fences. The group are largely in hiding from the authorities today, but remain
active. You can track their progress at
en.free-voina.org
Vladimirskaya & Vosstaniya
MONA
MONASTER
STERY
ALEXANDER NEVSKY MONASTERY
