The security forces came with searches to the members of the art group “Baby 18:22”, sisters Aksinya and Nika Sarychev in Tomsk. This was reported by their friend, artist and gallery owner Vitaly Bezpalov.
As the relatives of the Sarychevs told Novaya Gazeta Europe, the artists are witnesses in the case of treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code) against Pussy Riot member, former publisher of Mediazona Pyotr Verzilov. According to the publication, they “looked for contacts” of Verzilov from the Sarychevs, after a search the artists were released, their equipment was confiscated.
The fact that a case of treason had been opened against Verzilov became known on March 12. That day, FSB officers conducted three dozen searches in more than five cities — they came to modern artists and cultural figures. Many of those in whose homes the investigations were carried out reported that they did not know Verzilov personally.
“Babes 18:22,” as the Sarychevs themselves said in an interview, is a project dedicated to the study of human vulnerability, femininity and sisterhood within the boundaries of everyday life.
< span class="mz-publish-context-cite__text_meta">ArticleCurators from the FSB. How Russian artists were interrogated and searched in the case of Pyotr Verzilov on treason