Artist Who Nailed His Scrotum To Red Square Has Fled Russia For Asylum In France
The St Petersburg-based protest artist Pyotr Pavlensky (pictured), famous for nailing his scrotum to Moscow’s Red Square, has fled to France where he plans to apply for political asylum. The radical artist left Russia in mid-December with his partner, Oksana Chalyguina, and their children, after the opening of a criminal investigation brought against him for sexual assault. On Monday, 16 January, Pavlensky told the Russian opposition television channel Dojd that a complaint had been filed against him and his partner by the theatre actress, Anastasia Slonina. Pavlensky denies any guilt and describes the complaint as a
“denunciation.” The couple’s lawyer, Olga Dinze, says she has not yet received any court documents connected to the investigation.
