I have been “running” my art-marathon in memory of murdered opposition leader Boris Nemtsov 358 days, I launched it the 3 March, the day of his funeral. Every day I am creating at least one Nemtsov’s portrait. My goal is not only to keeping memory of the slain Putin critic, but also to attract attention to all victims of Putin’s regime.
As an artist, as a citizen and as a feminist I don’t like dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. They try to suppress all human rights and civil liberties, they suppress freedom of speech and expression, freedom of the press, right to equal protection of the law… Not long time ago, all comparisons between Putin’s regime and Stalinism were a kind of exaggeration and only a metaphor. But not anymore! For example the Russian civil rights activist Ildar Dadin was sentenced to three years imprisonment under new anti-protest law for repeated anti-government street protests — he stood alone with a placard in silence.

About the art-marathon’s starts

There were two marathon’s starts. The first start, I call it “presentiment” or “foreboding”, happened Sunday February 22, 2015 when I finished an oil painting from the new cycle Thus spoke Zarathustra.

Man is the cruelest animal. At tragedies, bullfights, and crucifixions he has so far felt best on earth; and when he invented hell for himself, behold, that was his very heaven.” The 2nd part of the diptych. Photo credit: Lena Hades.

It was a diptych titled “Man is the cruelest animal. At tragedies, bullfights, and crucifixions he has so far felt best on earth; and when he invented hell for himself, behold, that was his very heaven.”

It represents a dead Minotaur lying in a pool of blood. I published it in my Facebook February 27, 2015 at 10 PM. An hour and half later I was informed that Boris Nemtsov was shot dead while crossing the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge. That day I posted the picture on Facebook and late night users of the social network, learning about the murder of Boris Nemtsov at the walls of the Kremlin, almost unanimously exclaimed that the picture looks prophetic and the Minotaur picture on in his power and strength was remarkably similar to Nemtsov shot dead. I was told that I predicted his death in this painting. The second strange coincidence that the emblem of the party PARNAS (Party of the people’s freedom), created by Nemtsov, is a bull.
The second start I launched the 3 March, the day of Boris Nemtsov’s funeral.
(upd (16-03-2019) насчет «потрясающий человек» — под большим вопросом после общения с соратниками Немцова — ни одного порядочного и честного человека среди них обнаружить мне не удалось, одни карьеристы и проходимцы…)