Yahoo News Artists spray-paint portraits of Alexei Navalny behind a Soviet monument in Vienna
Two large portraits of the late Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, have been spray-painted onto a property owned by a former Czech foreign minister behind a monument honouring Soviet soldiers in Vienna.
Completed on Wednesday (27 March) by Austrian graffiti duo Joel Gamnou, the portraits cover the wall situated behind the monument, which had previously been painted in the blue and yellow national colours of Ukraine following Russia's invasion in 2022.
"It’s nice to give a political statement behind a memorial, to choose the flag of Ukraine, and in addition to that Navalny, who always used to heavily criticise the government in Russia," says Jonathan Gamperl, one half of the street art duo.
Navalny, who crusaded against official corruption in Russia and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe, died on 16 February in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence.
Officials have said only that he died of natural causes.
The wall in question belongs to the Palais Schwarzenberg, owned by the noble family of former Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who died in November.
The monument itself, known as the "Heroes' Monument of the Red Army", was unveiled in 1945 and was built to commemorate 17,000 Soviet soldiers who fell in the Battle for Vienna during World War II.
Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, was divided into occupation zones until the country was granted full sovereignty in 1955.
Public reaction to the portraits
The duo behind the project shared that they had received overwhelmingly positive feedback thus far. "A lot of Russians are telling us that it is important to them that we are doing the painting because they are living in the area. And it’s nice for them to see" says Gamperl.
Diana, a Vienna resident, echoed this sentiment, expressing her admiration for the artwork: “I think it’s outstandingly good artwork. I think in such an important place it’s very good to have it up, and I respect people who feel deeply about these things.”
Local politician Thomas Weber, representing the NEOS party, voiced his support, stating in German, “I think this is a great idea, that we in Vienna show publicly that we prefer freedom and democracy – and that we stand for a different Russia, a Russia without a war criminal, Putin, at the head."
However, KSORS, a group described by Austrian media as being close to the Russian Embassy, complained in a post on X that the wall behind the monument to Soviet soldiers is being “misused for political purposes.”
