Protests - Part 81

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, has certainly generated his share of protest and derision.  The painting above was made by Ukrainian artist Olga Oliynyk in 2012, before the war between Russia and Ukraine.  Aside from making fun of Putin by depicting him naked, the image is actually pretty flattering.  For years, Oliynyk was afraid to show the painting, but recently she decided to show it as a political gesture.

Putin has published many photos of himself shirtless doing manly activities like horseback riding and fishing (above, from 2013).

This generated opportunities for critics to make fun of him.  Above, the photo has been altered to put him in an Australian "budgie smuggler", a pair of very minimal swim trunks.

Someone else took it even further, making him naked, with a protruding belly and a rather small manhood.

This sculpture of Putin as a Russian bear with big claws and wings was made by Russian sculptor Viktor Kropachev in 2017.  It was intended to be complimentary, not critical.  It became a major talking point in Russia after a picture of it went viral.  Critics noted that the sculpture has a small penis and no balls and speculated whether Kropachev might be arrested because of that.

In 2021, a Czech artist made a sculpture of Putin sitting naked on a golden toilet.  Activists placed it outside the Russian embassy in Prague until authorities required it to be taken away.

In 2022 the statue was placed outside a meeting of the European Council, with activists demanding more weapons for Ukraine.  Later, the statue was auctioned off, with the proceeds used to buy a combat drone for Ukraine.

We end with this 2022 painting by British artist Peter d'Allesandri called Men Wrestling.  It's about the war in Ukraine.  The naked men wrestling represent Russia and Ukraine fighting.  Putin is shown naked on a golden throne.  French president Macron wears a harlequin costume, while British prime minister Boris Johnson is portrayed dressed as a clown and drinking. President Biden is behind them.   All three of them just look on and do nothing to end the fight.