Oleg Vorotnikov of Russian art collective Voina arrested in Prague

Oleg Vorotnikov, a founding member of the anarchist Russian art collective Voina, was arrested in the Czech Republic on charges of hooliganism, insulting public officials, and violence against authorities. He was detained alongside his wife Natalia Sokol, also a Voina member, and one of their children while fleeing Russia to avoid arrest. Vorotnikov is on the Interpol wanted list. The family has been released but faces extradition. Voina, founded in 2005, aims to develop patriotic and monumental street art in Russia, idolizing artist Dmitri Prigov. The group has over 200 members and was named Associate Curators with Joanna Warsza for the 7th Berlin Biennale in 2012, directed by Artur Zmijewski. Founding member Leonid Nikolaev, known as Leo The Fucknut, died in 2015. The arrest occurs amid a tense cultural climate in Russia, where a photojournalism exhibition at the Sakharov Center was raided by protesters in Cossack attire, and a show by American photographer Jock Sturges at the Lumiere Brothers Center of Photography was closed after protests alleging child pornography.