Russian artist who mocked Putin shot dead in eastern Poland

WARSAW: A Russian artist known for satirical work targeting President Vladimir Putin was shot dead in eastern Poland, Polish officials said on Tuesday, in a killing that authorities said is under investigation.

Marcin Kozak, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office in Lublin, told journalists that investigators were examining the killing of a 44-year-old Russian citizen known publicly as Semyon Skrepetsky. He said two Belarusian nationals had been arrested in connection with the case. The pair were detained near the Belarusian consulate in Biala Podlaska, the city where the shooting took place.

At the same time, Lublin police spokesman Deputy Inspector Andrzej Fijolek said the search for the gunman was continuing. He said a special investigative team had been formed to pursue the case. According to Polish officials, Skrepetsky, whose real name was Robert Kuzovkov, was shot three times on Monday morning by an unidentified attacker carrying a handgun. After he fell, the assailant came closer and fired two more shots at close range.

Polish government spokesman Adam Szlapka described the matter as grave and said Poland had offered protection to the artist, but he had turned it down. Polish media also reported on Tuesday that Skrepetsky’s family had been moved to a safe place after the killing.

Kozak said no charges had so far been filed against the two Belarusians who were detained, adding that they remained available to the prosecutor’s office and police as the inquiry continued.

The killing could deepen strains between Poland and Russia. Relations between the two neighbours were already aggravated after drone crashes on Polish territory last autumn, incidents for which Warsaw blames Moscow.

On X, Bartosz Grodecki, head of Poland’s National Security Bureau, said that if a political motive behind the killing was confirmed, it would amount to another sign of Russian actions extending beyond its borders. He added that Poland could not allow such acts to take place on its territory.

Skrepetsky was known for provocative caricatures aimed at major Russian political figures, including Putin, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, opposition figure Alexei Navalny and Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov.