"Guelman, a gallerist and dealer who left Russia for Montenegro in 2014, was named a "foreign agent" in 2021 and a "terrorist" in 2024, part of an accelerating clampdown on culture and freedom of expression following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since this time, Montenegro has been a key refuge for Russian intellectuals who have fled repression. Guelman founded SlovoNovo, which is held annually in the ancient, walled town of Budva on the Adriatic Sea, in 2018."
"The festival is subtitled "Forum of Free Culture in Europe". The curator told The Breakfast Show, a YouTube news show run by exiled Russian journalists, that it is the cultural forum's addressing of the war and of "Putin's desire to fight," which led to it being targeted. Krisevich, 25, began staging performances in support of political prisoners in 2020, including tying himself to a cross in front of the headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Service, the main successor of the Soviet KGB, in Moscow."
On 7 November, Pavel Krisevich and the Europe-based SlovoNovo festival were added to Russia's official list of "foreign agents." Being added to the list triggers legal restrictions, reporting obligations, and is often followed by criminal prosecution or inclusion on the registry of "terrorists and extremists." The designation has reduced willingness of Russian participants to engage and underscores the perceived political role of artists in anti-war activity. Marat Guelman was previously labeled a "foreign agent" and later a "terrorist," and Montenegro has become a refuge for exiled Russian cultural figures. SlovoNovo, founded in Budva in 2018, has been targeted for addressing the war. Krisevich staged provocative performances supporting political prisoners and was arrested and sentenced in 2021.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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