Ales Pushkin

Born on August 6, 1965, Ales Pushkin was a prominent Belarusian artist and former political prisoner whose bold artistic expressions and activism made him a key figure in the fight for freedom of expression in Belarus. Tragically, he died in custody on July 11, 2023.

Ales Pushkin was arrested on March 30, 2021, by officers of the Interior Ministry in the village of Žyličy, following a previous raid on his home just days earlier. He was implicated in charges related to the “desecration of state symbols” and “incitement to hatred,” stemming from his art that depicted Belarusian resistance figures. His most notable works included a controversial portrait of Yauhen Zhykhar, which the authorities mischaracterized as attempted rehabilitation of Nazism.

Despite facing severe repression for his art, including being sent for psychiatric evaluation and undergoing harsh treatment in custody, Pushkin remained unwavering in his beliefs. He was sentenced to five years in a maximum-security penal colony, where he staged a harrowing protest during his trial, revealing cuts on his abdomen in the shape of a cross. His actions symbolized the deep scars of repression inflicted upon Belarusian society.

Pushkin’s fierce commitment to his craft was evident in his audacious performances. In 2021, shortly before his arrest, he presented “Manure for the President” at an exhibition in Kyiv, where he poured red paint over a modified portrait of Aliaksandr Lukashenka, symbolizing blood and the suffering of the Belarusian people. This act of defiance echoed a similar performance he staged back in 1999, when he confronted the presidential administration with a wheelbarrow of manure, which led to a suspended sentence.

His artistic activities led to his status as a political prisoner, and he experienced brutal conditions while imprisoned, including solitary confinement and a lack of medical care, which ultimately contributed to his untimely death due to complications from a perforated ulcer. His tragic passing occurred in an intensive care unit, underscoring the systemic negligence in the treatment of political prisoners in Belarus.

Artists at Risk Connection supported Ales Pushkin and his family following his death, highlighting the continuing struggle for artistic freedom and human rights in Belarus. Despite the oppressive regime’s attempts to silence him, Ales Pushkin’s legacy as a courageous artist and activist endures, inspiring those who continue to fight for freedom and justice in Belarus and beyond.