Carpenter Arrested for Displaying Vereshchagin's Anti-War Painting at Russian Protest

Stanislav Karmakskikh, a carpenter from Tomsk, was detained on March 6 after participating in an anti-war demonstration in the Siberian city. During the protest, he held a printed reproduction of Vasily Vereshchagin's 1871 painting 'The Apotheosis of War,' which depicts a pyramid of skulls. Karmakskikh explained that he approached police as they arrested another protester, telling officers the artwork illustrated Russia's future. He was fined 45,000 rubles (£420). The painting, created after Vereshchagin witnessed imperial conquest in modern-day Uzbekistan, hangs in Moscow's State Tretyakov Gallery, where merchandise featuring its imagery is sold. Vereshchagin dedicated the work to 'all the great conquerors: past, present and future' in an ironic inscription. Karmakskikh, affiliated with the activist group Tomsk Memorial, noted the painting's skulls reminded him of Soviet-era repression and current Russian actions. Police hesitation reportedly occurred due to the artwork's status as a national icon, even as authorities suppress criticism of the Ukraine invasion. President Vladimir Putin, during a March 16 meeting, called for societal 'self-purification.' The UN reports over 1,000 Ukrainian civilian deaths, while a Russian tabloid briefly published military casualty figures before removing them. Tretyakov curators describe the painting as a protest against all wars and a reminder of human fragility.