Investigation Reportedly Launched Into Navalny Mural In Putin's Hometown
A worker paints over the mural of jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny in St. Petersburg.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Reports in Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, say police have launched a probe into the appearance of a giant mural of jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny that survived only a matter of hours before authorities in Russian President Vladimir Putin's hometown painted over it.
Citing city law enforcement sources, reports said that the investigation was launched into "vandalism motivated by political, ideological, racial, ethnic, or religious hatred."
Investigators believe that several artists worked on the mural in which Navalny, Putin's most vocal critic, was shown smiling and making the shape of a heart with his hands with the slogan "A hero of a new time" next to them.
'Now You See It...': Watch St. Petersburg's Navalny Tribute Mural Disappear
1/10The mural depicted Navalny making the heart gesture to his wife from a glass defendants' cage in a Moscow courtroom in early February after he was sentenced and taken away to a Russian prison for 2 1/2 years.
On the night of April 28, in the center of St. Petersburg, a mural depicting Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny appeared on the side of a building, with the inscription "Hero of a New Time." It took only hours before police arrived and the authorities ordered that it be painted over.
2/10It only took a few hours before police in President Vladimir Putin's hometown arrived and the authorities ordered that it be painted over.
On the night of April 28, in the center of St. Petersburg, a mural depicting Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny appeared on the side of a building, with the inscription "Hero of a New Time." It took only hours before police arrived and the authorities ordered that it be painted over.
On the night of April 28, in the center of St. Petersburg, a mural depicting Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny appeared on the side of a building, with the inscription "Hero of a New Time." It took only hours before police arrived and the authorities ordered that it be painted over.
4/10
A work crew quickly arrived with buckets of yellow paint.
On the night of April 28, in the center of St. Petersburg, a mural depicting Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny appeared on the side of a building, with the inscription "Hero of a New Time." It took only hours before police arrived and the authorities ordered that it be painted over.
5/10Several people commented on Twitter that the police acted quicker in response to the mural than they do for violent crimes.
On the night of April 28, in the center of St. Petersburg, a mural depicting Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny appeared on the side of a building, with the inscription "Hero of a New Time." It took only hours before police arrived and the authorities ordered that it be painted over.
6/10Navalny was arrested in January upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he received life-saving treatment for a poisoning attack in Siberia in August 2020 that he blames on Putin and Russia's security services. The Kremlin denies any role.
On the night of April 28, in the center of St. Petersburg, a mural depicting Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny appeared on the side of a building, with the inscription "Hero of a New Time." It took only hours before police arrived and the authorities ordered that it be painted over.
7/10
In February, a Moscow court ruled that Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an old embezzlement case while he was seeking treatment in Germany.
On the night of April 28, in the center of St. Petersburg, a mural depicting Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny appeared on the side of a building, with the inscription "Hero of a New Time." It took only hours before police arrived and the authorities ordered that it be painted over.
8/10Navalny's incarceration has sparked numerous protests across Russia, which have been violently dispersed by police.
On the night of April 28, in the center of St. Petersburg, a mural depicting Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny appeared on the side of a building, with the inscription "Hero of a New Time." It took only hours before police arrived and the authorities ordered that it be painted over.
On the night of April 28, in the center of St. Petersburg, a mural depicting Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny appeared on the side of a building, with the inscription "Hero of a New Time." It took only hours before police arrived and the authorities ordered that it be painted over.
10/10"The beautiful St. Petersburg graffiti with Navalny was quickly painted over. This is how they transform everything 'alive' and beautiful into faceless and 'dead,'" Navalny lawyer Lyubov Sobol said on Twitter. "We have Russia for happiness, they have it for despondency and stagnation."
On the night of April 28, in the center of St. Petersburg, a mural depicting Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny appeared on the side of a building, with the inscription "Hero of a New Time." It took only hours before police arrived and the authorities ordered that it be painted over.
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The mural in Putin's hometown was painted over in a matter of hours on April 28 after police came to the site to take samples of the paint and search nearby trash bins. It's not known who is responsible for the painting.
On April 29, another mural appeared in the same district, in which a masked police officer with a helmet and a gun was shown with the slogan "A hero of our time" above him.
It was not immediately clear if the mural was a sarcastic comment on the harsh crackdown on Navalny and his supporters, or a show of support for the police.
Navalny was arrested in January upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he received life-saving treatment for a poisoning attack in Siberia in August.
He blames the poisoning with a Soviet-style chemical nerve agent on Putin and the security services. The Kremlin has denied any role in the poisoning.
In February, a Moscow court ruled that while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an old embezzlement case that is widely considered to be politically motivated. He is currently serving a 2 1/2-year sentence at a prison in the Vladimir region.
Navalny's incarceration sparked numerous protests across Russia that were violently dispersed by police.
Leondid Volkov, a close associate of Navalny, said earlier on April 29 that the Kremlin critic's regional network will be disbanded just ahead of an expected court hearing over a request from prosecutors to declare the main pillars of Navalny's political organization as extremist.
With reporting by Fontanka and Komsomolskaya pravda
