MOSCOW (AP) – According to the director of St. Petersburg’s Museum of Power, the artist whose paintings depicted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in women’s undergarments has fled the country en route to France where he is planning to request asylum.
On Monday, authorities removed four of Konstantin Alutunin’s satirical depictions of Russian politicians and then shut down the exhibition, although police did not specify which laws were violated by the artist’s works. However there are two laws that may be in contention: one prohibits insulting state authorities and another bans so-called homosexual propaganda aimed at minors.