Pussy Riot and FEMEN stage joint protest at Russian Pavilion during Venice Biennale preview
Photo courtesy Pussy Riot / Nikita Teryoshin
Pussy Riot and FEMEN staged a joint protest at the Russian Pavilion during the Venice Biennale preview on May 6, 2026, in Venice, Italy. The action, titled “Storm of Venice,” took place during the preview days of the 61st International Art Exhibition, “In Minor Keys,” which runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026.
More than 50 Pussy Riot members entered the pavilion area wearing pink ski masks and carrying pink smoke. The group chanted “Russia’s art is blood” and “Disobey” during the protest. FEMEN activists then joined the action with blue and yellow smoke, Ukrainian flags, and chants.
Italian police blocked access to the pavilion, and the protest interrupted access for about 30 minutes.
‘Every Russian artwork shown this year stands on an invisible pedestal: Ukrainian blood’
In a reaction Pussy Riot creator Nadya Tolokonnikova says: “Russia’s best citizens are either imprisoned for anti-regime and pro-Ukraine actions or killed in jail, while Europe opens its doors to Putin’s officials and propagandists.”
She adds: “If art is meant to represent a country at the Venice Biennale – something like the Olympics of the art world – then artists imprisoned for their anti-war, pro-Ukraine stance are the real face of modern Russia.”
Tolokonnikova also said they want imprisoned and formerly imprisoned Russian artists to represent Russia at the Venice Biennale in 2028. She called on Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, Veneto president Luca Zaia, and Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro to meet with the group.
FEMEN’s Inna Shevchenko commented: “We say it clearly: RUSSIA KILLS — BIENNALE EXHIBITS. BLOOD IS RUSSIA’S ART. Every Russian artwork shown this year stands on an invisible pedestal: Ukrainian blood. You won’t find it in the catalogue. But it is the only material that truly holds this pavilion together.”
Below are pictures from the protest (Photos courtesy Pussy Riot / Nikita Teryoshin).
Background to Russia’s return at the Venice Biennale
The protest took place during renewed controversy over Russia’s return to the Biennale. Russia’s Pavilion reopened for the first time since the country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. A Biennale representative said Russia had not been invited, but had the right to participate because it owns the pavilion.
The 61st International Art Exhibition is titled “In Minor Keys” and was developed from the curatorial concept of Koyo Kouoh. The official Biennale programme lists the preview days as May 6, 7, and 8, with the public opening on May 9.
The European Commission has already threatened to withdraw €2 million in funding over Russia’s participation, while the Italian government sent inspectors to Venice. The Russian Pavilion was expected to remain open only during the preview week before the public opening.
Pussy Riot and FEMEN add that Russia’s participation violates European sanctions.
About Pussy Riot
Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest art collective formed in Moscow in 2011. The group was founded by Nadya Tolokonnikova and developed from earlier links to the Russian street-art group Voina. Its early actions used punk, performance, video, and public intervention to criticise Vladimir Putin, state power, and the Russian Orthodox Church.
The collective became internationally known in 2012 after a performance inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were later convicted in Russia. In December 2025 a Moscow court declared the art collective an “extremist organization,” effectively banning its activity in Russia and exposing associates to possible criminal charges.
About FEMEN
FEMEN is an international feminist activist group founded in Ukraine in 2008. The group became known for topless protest actions against sex tourism, religious institutions, sexism, homophobia, authoritarianism, and other political issues. Well known members include Anna Hutsol, Oksana Shachko, Alexandra Shevchenko, Inna Shevchenko, and Yana Zhdanova.
Inna Shevchenko joined the organisation in 2009 and later became one of its main public figures. She was granted asylum in France in 2013 and continued her activity from Paris. FEMEN’s recent actions have also focused on Russia’s war against Ukraine, including a December 2024 protest at the “Broken Chair” monument outside the United Nations in Geneva.
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