More than 50 members of anti-Putin activist group Pussy Riot stormed the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition on Wednesday in their first-ever joint protest with Ukrainian feminist group FEMEN.

The action comes amid a backlash against a decision by the Venice Biennale – which also oversees the Venice Film Festival in September – to allow Russia to host a pavilion as the country continues to wage war against Ukraine.

A press statement released on behalf of Pussy Riot and FEMEN said the protestors had performed their “Disobey” song, with FEMEN members stepping forward with blue and yellow smoke, Ukrainian flags, and chants.

It added that Pussy Riot members in pink ski masks had managed to get inside and open the door to the pavilion, which was initially barricaded by private security and Italian police.

Russian-born activist and artist Nadya Tolokonnikova, who lives in exile having spent time in jail back home for publicly challenging President Vladimir Putin and his regime, put out a statement explaining the thinking behind the protest.

“Russia’s best citizens are either imprisoned for anti-regime and pro-Ukraine actions or killed in jail, while Europe opens its doors to Putin’s officials and propagandists,” she said in a statement. “If art is meant to represent a country at the Venice Biennale — something like the Olympics of the art world — then artists imprisoned for their anti-war, pro-Ukraine stance are the real face of modern Russia.”

Biennale Foundation President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco has defended his decision to allow Russia to participate. The country has had a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 1914. It withdrew from the 2022 edition in the wake of the Ukraine War and was absent in 2024.

Tolokonnikova said Buttafuoco needed to rethink his stance and proposed that at the next international show in 2028, dissident artists represent Russia instead.

She called for a meeting with Buttafuoco as well as Veneto President Luca Zaia and the city’s mayor Luigi Brugnaro to discuss the proposal.

FEMEN’s Inna Shevchenko added: “Every Russian artwork shown this year stands on an invisible pedestal: Ukrainian blood. You won’t find it in the catalogue. But it is the only material that truly holds this pavilion together. Russian terrorist state uses culture to disguise itself. Blood is Russia’s only medium. Everything else is decoration. And the Biennale exhibits it.

“We demand that reality enters this space — now. If you exhibit Russia, then exhibit its crimes. Show the bombed Ukrainian cities. Show the graves. Show the bodies — civilians, mutilated, without limbs, forever changed.”

Wednesday’s protest follows in the wake of a threat from the European Union to cut a €2M ($2.3M) grant to the Venice Biennale for violating EU sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the subsequent ongoing war.

Connected to the row, the international jury resigned last Thursday having announced it would exclude national pavilions representing territories where the leaders are charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court from consideration for the prizes.

The exclusion was seen as specifically targeting the pavilions of Israel and Russia, the leaders of which, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have been issued with arrest warrants by the ICC for alleged war crimes. 

Their resignation led to the cancellation of the opening ceremony on May 9, which would have marked the opening of the show to the public after three professional preview days from May 6 to 8. Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli had previously indicated that he would not attend the opening ceremony in protest at Russian’s presence.

The jury prizes have since been replaced with two public prizes which will be awarded as the show draws to a close in November, while the Ministry of Culture has ordered that the Russian pavilion will not be open to the public.