Kaluga's Mu-Mu garbage museum removed the work of «iKon» from the exhibition after complaints and threats from Orthodox activists from the pro-war movement «Forty Sorokov». This is reported on the museum's website.
The iKon exhibit is assembled from old microcircuits and circuit boards. Movement activists considered that the work offends the feelings of believers. They filed complaints with the Investigative Committee and the Governor of the Kaluga Region Vladislav Shapsha.
The first post about the work appeared in the telegram channel “Forty Sorokov” on August 2, it noted that “an icon with perverted images of the Virgin and the Infant Christ” was put up in the garbage museum. The activists added that “by placing the icon in such a form and in such a place, the organizers actually tried to equate the saints for believers with garbage, and presented the images themselves in the form of a caricature, also made with garbage elements.”
Photo: Mu-Mu Museum
“Apparently, the directorate of the museum is not smart enough to understand that there are taboos that cannot be crossed, that what is sacred to people cannot be touched. Maybe the directorate of the museum in the region, where already in different cities up to 30 percent of poorly speaking Russian migrants and «new Russians» migrants, does not understand that in such conditions it is all the more necessary to preserve one’s faith and values, and not expose them to desecration?One of the supporters of the Orthodox movement wrote in the comments to the post that the director of the museum “should have his head cut off in public on Red Square”, another answered him: “Well, yes, I think so too. At least for a start, even one hand can be cut off so that everyone knows about it. ” Now these comments have been removed from the telegram channel (screenshots of these messages are in the publication of the museum).
In their appeal, representatives of the museum wrote that many employees were surprised by the «aggression, anger without even trying to hear the other side and outright intimidation» on the part of the activists.
Mu-mu emphasized that the exhibit was returned to the owner, who will apply for a state cultural examination, which will determine the «presence or absence of incriminated» human rights activists » characteristics of the subject”, and will ask the priests to evaluate both the work itself and the reaction of activists to it. The museum promised to publish the results. In response to this, the Forty Sorokov movement called for continuing to complain to the UK.
The author's name is Mikhail Soldatenkov, now his page has been removed from the Mu-mu website, but its archived version has been preserved. It says that the artist has been engaged in the restoration of carvings, gilding and painting temples for a long time, and now he creates covers for music albums and art objects, in which, in his opinion, “there is a spiritual meaning.”