FSB seeks nearly half a million rubles from art activist Pyotr Pavlensky

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has filed a criminal case against performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky for damage caused when he set fire to the doors of the FSB headquarters.

According to the FSB, the door of the building on Lubyanka square in central Moscow is of cultural significance, with the damage costing an estimated 481,000 rubles (US$7,500).

Pavlensky set fire to the entrance of the FSB on 9 November 2015 in an artistic action against the organisation entitled Threat. Well-known for his violent artistic actions, in 2012 Pavlensky sewed his mouth shut in protest against the detention of Russian punk group Pussy Riot, while in November 2013 he nailed his scrotum to the ground on Red Square. He has been nominated for the FSB Prize for Literature and the Arts, which recognises artistic work on the subject of the FSB.

Source: Moscow Times