Oleg Navalny walks free from the Russian prison that made him a protest artist
29 June 2018
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Katie Marie Davies
The brother of one of Russia’s leading opposition politicians who penned illustrations from behind bars has been released from prison after serving a three and a half year sentence.
Oleg Navalny was jailed in December 2014 after being found guilty of embezzling funds from a subsidiary of French cosmetics giant Yves Rocher. His brother, former Russian presidential hopeful Alexey Navalny, was also found guilty, but escaped with a suspended sentence. The case has been widely criticised at home and and abroad, with many condemning it as politically-motivated.
Oleg stayed engaged with politics throughout this sentence, honing his art skills behind bars to promote the anti-Kremlin cause.
Publishing on Instagram, the 35-year-old has illustrated both a calendar and an online game documenting prison life, as well designing tattoos to protest President Putin’s re-election.
Oleg created much of his work in pen, pencil or charcoal, with only splashes of colour to illuminate an otherwise monochrome world. He told his followers that prisoners were only permitted to draw with pencils, pens, or charcoal. “Only in gray and black!” he wrote on Instagram. “You’re only allowed to use other colours after two years.”
