There was an election a few days ago in Russia. It was a sham election—Putin is the unquestioned tyrant. I don’t completely understand his need to even have “elections”—no one inside or outside believes that Russia is a democracy—and having elections gives your braver citizens something to focus their unhappiness on. Hence vandalized ballot boxes.
Perhaps recognizing that with the recent death in prison of Alexei Navalny and this election (not to mention the war Putin has dragged his country into) that there is a potential for annoying anti-government activities, the Russian goon squad leaped into action. They ask themselves, who among us Russians is most likely to do something drastic on election day, something that might embarrass the state?
I know—artists!
According to Artnet, in the past month, about 30 artists’ homes and studios have been searched by the FSB. Searches alone would be alarming, but one could see it as mostly a bit of a thuggish warning. But Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty has more alarming details. They suggest it is in relation to the investigation for treason of Pyotr Verzilov, an associate of Pussy Riot, and long-time activist against the Russian state and its war against Ukraine. He is being investigated for treason because he announced his desire to go and fight for Ukraine. It is thought that the FSB is searching, interogating, and seizing the computers and phones of Verzilov’s artist buddies and, I guess, anyone more-or-less in that milieu as part of their case.
I have a longtime relationship with art and artists, but I have no doubt about the art world’s relative powerlessness. Has political art ever resulted in political change? I guess I am pretty skeptical about how much of an effect that Pussy Riot can have in Putin’s Russia. But what does my opinion about art matter next to the FSB’s? They seem to think art is dangerous and are acting on that assumption.
There are a lot of politically active artists in the USA who (let’s be honest) are unknown to 99.9% of the American populace. One assumes that if a Trump dictatorship were to commence on January 20, 2025, it would take them a while to start hassling artists—there are a lot more visible “enemies” in line before artists.
But this is what will eventually happen if Trump and his goons win.
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Hmm, has political art ever resulted in political change? I don't know about art alone, but there are certainly artists who through their art and related actions have had significant effects on political change, but we tend to forget just how disruptive those artists were at the time. Perhaps the most effective artist in recent times is the actor, comedian and producer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is now the de facto leader of "free world" while Biden dithers and Trump daily kneels to blow Putin like a well groomed alter boy.
Nevertheless, you are mostly correct about the results of political art. Too many artists are politically naive if not outright stupid about politics and war. Of course we all look to Guernica, but where was Picasso during the next war?