Since November 2021, I have been working in an organisation called Memorial (the oldest human-rights and historical NGO in Russia) as an illustrator. I have created many illustrations and posters to share information about the persecution of Memorial in the end of 2021 by the Russian state. I tried to encourage people to go to court hearings and show that these were unfair and ridiculous. I drew to get the attention of people in civil society. We made an exhibition with drawings from the courts, and I made merchandise to attract attention and donations.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, I have mostly been drawing pictures for Memorial's social media. I have also been working on Memorial-projects against the war, about Soviet history, the 1937 repressions and the Great Terror. I draw to support people who are currently imprisoned in Russia and Belarus for their political beliefs. Since late 2021, my drawings have become political, and since February 2022, they have been against the war.
Since then I have had more than 10 solo exhibitions with drawings for the Memorial and several group exhibitions (Moscow, Berlin, Paris, Prague, Brno, Olomouc, etc.).
Memorial is one of the most famous and old historical and human-rights organisation. For many years it defends human rights and works with hard memory of repressions from soviet times and Big terror. Last years it was persecuted by the state (memorial was «foreign agent») and in the end of 2021 it was liquidated. After the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine some of our colleagues emigrated and I am also – I moved to Berlin in March 2022 in order to evade possible persecution for antiwar artworks. In the 2022 Memorial got the Nobel Peace Prize.
