Două portrete uriașe ale liderului decedat al opoziției ruse, Aleksei Navalnîi, au fost pictate cu spray pe o proprietate din Viena deținută de familia unui fost ministru de externe ceh, în spatele unui monument dedicat soldaților sovietici, relatează The Associated Press.

Portretele au fost finalizate miercuri, 27 martie, pe peretele din spatele monumentului, care fusese deja pictat în culorile naționale ale Ucrainei (albastru și galben) după ce Rusia a lansat în 2022 invazia pe scară largă din Ucraina.

Zidul aparține Palatului Schwarzenberg, deținut de familia aristocrată a fostului ministru de externe ceh Karel Schwarzenberg, care a murit în noiembrie.

Monumentul care înfățișează un soldat sovietic a fost construit după ce trupele sovietice au cucerit Viena în 1945. Austria, care a fost anexată de Germania nazistă în 1938, a fost împărțită în zone de ocupație până când țara a primit suveranitate deplină, în 1955.

“Monumentul comemorează victimele dictaturii, iar domnul Navalnîi este o victimă evidentă a dictaturii”, a declarat Maximillian Schaffgotsch, reprezentant al fundației familiei Schwarzenberg, pentru Agenția Austriacă de Presă (APA).

With two large portraits of Alexei Navalny on the wall behind the Soviet War Memorial (Heroes’ Monument of the Red Army) in Vienna, the Schwarzenberg family has been referring to the Russian politician, who died in a prison camp in February. In the picture: One of the two portraits pictured on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Vienna. – PHOTO: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER -,Image: 860029799, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no

With two large portraits of Alexei Navalny on the wall behind the Soviet War Memorial (Heroes’ Monument of the Red Army) in Vienna, the Schwarzenberg family has been referring to the Russian politician, who died in a prison camp in February. In the picture: One of the two portraits pictured on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Vienna. – PHOTO: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER – 20240327_PD2101,Image: 860029445, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: AUSTRIA OUT, GERMANY OUT, SWITZERLAND OUT, UK OUT
SOUTH TYROL OUT, Model Release: no

With two large portraits of Alexei Navalny on the wall behind the Soviet War Memorial (Heroes’ Monument of the Red Army) in Vienna, the Schwarzenberg family has been referring to the Russian politician, who died in a prison camp in February. In the picture: One of the two portraits pictured on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Vienna. – PHOTO: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER -,Image: 860029889, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no

With two large portraits of Alexei Navalny on the wall behind the Soviet War Memorial (Heroes’ Monument of the Red Army) in Vienna, the Schwarzenberg family has been referring to the Russian politician, who died in a prison camp in February. In the picture: One of the two portraits pictured on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Vienna. – PHOTO: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER -,Image: 860029722, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no

Austrian graffiti duo Joel Gamnou paint a picture of Alexei Navalny on a wall in Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Two large portraits of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been spray-prainted on a property owned by the family of a former Czech foreign minister behind a monument to Soviet soldiers in Vienna.,Image: 860064092, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: This content is intended for editorial use only. For other uses, additional clearances may be required., Model Release: no, Pictured: Alexei Navalny

A picture of Alexei Navalny on a mural in Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Two large portraits of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been spray-painted on a property owned by the family of a former Czech foreign minister behind a monument to Soviet soldiers in Vienna.,Image: 860064076, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: This content is intended for editorial use only. For other uses, additional clearances may be required., Model Release: no, Pictured: Alexei Navalny

Austrian graffiti duo Joel Gamnou paint a picture of Alexei Navalny on a wall in Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Two large portraits of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been spray-prainted on a property owned by the family of a former Czech foreign minister behind a monument to Soviet soldiers in Vienna.,Image: 860064096, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: This content is intended for editorial use only. For other uses, additional clearances may be required., Model Release: no, Pictured: Alexei Navalny

With two large portraits of Alexei Navalny on the wall behind the Soviet War Memorial (Heroes’ Monument of the Red Army) in Vienna, the Schwarzenberg family has been referring to the Russian politician, who died in a prison camp in February. In the picture: One of the two portraits pictured on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Vienna. – PHOTO: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER – 20240327_PD2114,Image: 860028671, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: AUSTRIA OUT, GERMANY OUT, SWITZERLAND OUT, UK OUT
SOUTH TYROL OUT, Model Release: no

Navalnîi, care a dus o campanie amplă împotriva corupției din Rusia și a organizat proteste masive anti-Kremlin, fiind cel mai aprig critic al președintelui Vladimir Putin, a murit pe 16 februarie în colonia penitenciară “Lupul polar” din Arctica, unde ispășea o pedeapsă de 19 ani. Oficialii ruși susțin că acesta a murit din cauze naturale.

Duo-ul austriac de graffiti Joel Gamnou a pictat portretele lui Navalnîi. Jonathan Gamperl, unul dintre cei doi artiști stradali, a spus că “până acum am primit doar feedback pozitiv”.

KSORS, un grup descris de presa austriacă ca fiind apropiat de Ambasada Rusiei, s-a plâns într-o postare pe Facebook că zidul din spatele monumentului soldaților sovietici este “folosit în mod abuziv în scopuri politice”.

Un memorial improvizat pentru Navalnîi, situat vizavi de ambasadă, a fost îndepărtat de două ori în ultimele două săptămâni. Procurorii din Viena analizează dacă să deschidă sau nu o investigație în legătură cu aceste incidente, notează APA.

Foto: Profimedia Images