Nikita Teryoshin Documents Pussy Riot's Venice Biennale Protest Against the Russian Pavilion
In 2026, photographer Nikita Teryoshin was approached by Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot to capture their protest outside the Russian Pavilion during the Venice Biennale preview week. This event followed Teryoshin's previous documentation of a demonstration at the Russian embassy in Berlin after Alexei Navalny's death in February 2024. Tolokonnikova condemned Russia's cultural 'soft power,' while Teryoshin referred to the pavilion as a case of 'artwashing.' The protest drew a crowd of 200 participants. Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco defended the presence of nations accused of human rights violations. Teryoshin, who burned his Russian passport in 2022, is facing a possible 16-year prison sentence. His latest book, Game of Chairs, is available from pupupublishing for €55.
Key facts
- Nikita Teryoshin documented a Pussy Riot protest outside the Russian Pavilion during the Venice Biennale preview week in 2026
- Pussy Riot founding member Nadya Tolokonnikova invited Teryoshin to photograph the action
- Teryoshin burned his Russian passport in Berlin in early 2022 and sold the image as an NFT and prints, donating thousands of euros to Ukraine
- Die Zeit published the passport photograph
- Teryoshin says burning a passport now carries a 16-year prison sentence under retrospectively applied Russian law
- Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco defended states' participation, saying selection by passport would end the Biennale's role as a global meeting place
- Teryoshin photographed a Pussy Riot protest at Berlin's Russian embassy after Alexei Navalny's death in February 2024
- Teryoshin's book Game of Chairs is published by pupupublishing at €55
Entities
Artists
- Nikita Teryoshin
- Nadya Tolokonnikova
- Alexei Navalny
- Judith Butler
- Pietrangelo Buttafuoco
Institutions
- Pussy Riot
- Femen
- Venice Biennale
- Russian Pavilion
- Art Basel
- Die Zeit
- pupupublishing
- 1854 Photography
- Russian Orthodox Church
- Italian Social Movement
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Berlin
- Germany
- Leningrad
- Russia
- Dortmund
- Ukraine
- Poland
- Qatar
- Siberia