Russian security guard sentenced for defacing Anna Leporskaya painting at Yeltsin Centre

A Russian court has sentenced Aleksandr Vasiliev to 180 hours of compulsory labor and psychiatric evaluation for vandalizing Anna Leporskaya's painting Three Figures (1932–34) with a ballpoint pen. The incident occurred on his first day as a security guard at the Yeltsin Centre in Yekaterinburg in December 2021, where the artwork was on loan from Moscow's State Tretyakov Gallery. Vasiliev drew two sets of eyes on the painting's blank faces, resulting in a repair cost of RUB 250,000 (£2,470) covered by his employer's insurance. His lawyers pleaded for dropped charges, citing his status as a widower, a veteran of the Afghan and Chechen wars with head injuries, and his recovery from his son's murder eight years prior. The Tretyakov Gallery considered reconciliation but pursued the case, leading to the August 29 court ruling. Vasiliev's lawyer mocked the media attention, questioning the severity of the response.