Artist spouses from Krasnodar apply for political refuge in Sweden

Lusine Djanyan and Alexei Knedlyakovsky, Krasnodar artists well known for their oppositional views, have applied for political asylum in Sweden, and the authorities of the country have accepted the spouses' application for consideration.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 23, 2016, the Lenin District Court of Krasnodar sentenced blogger and artist Alexei Knedlyakovsky to arrest for 15 days. The Court found the artist guilty of petty hooliganism after he published in social networks a photo of the monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky with a Catholic cross attached to the monument's base. Alexei Knedlyakovsky was released on January 7.

According to Alexei Knedlyakovsky, "the installation 'The White Circle' created by him and his wife and dedicated to Moscow protests against the third term of Vladimir Putin was moved to Sweden first." "We exhibited 'The White Circle' in Sweden in 2014. We were afraid to take our installation back to Russia, and it stayed in Sweden. As it turned out, we had grounds for our fears. And now we ourselves have come to 'The White Circle'," said Alexei Knedlyakovsky.

Alexei Knedlyakovsky has also noted that the action held by him on December 22, 2016, "was treated by the FSB as an insult, and it became dangerous for him to stay in Krasnodar."

The application of Alexei Knedlyakovsky and Lusine Djanyan for political asylum in Sweden is under consideration, the artists are provided with an apartment for the period of consideration, the "Republic" reports.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.