Belarusian Artist Kuzmich Detained While Trying To Break Into Elysee Palace

He is about 30 years old. He stated that he did not want to commit violence.

An unknown man was detained on April, 1st, while trying to enter the territory of the Elysee Palace in Paris. This was reported by the Figaro newspaper, referring to judicial sources. According to TUT.BY, the man is a Belarusian. The man reportedly had a bottle of liquid with him and a piece of cloth already set on fire. Together with the violator, a couple was detained, who accompanied him, took pictures and filmed his actions. All three were charged with intentional gun violence. A police source told the French newspaper that the liquid in the bottle was found to be harmless. Its owner introduced himself as an artist. He is about 30 years old. He stated that he did not want to commit violence. According to TUT.BY, the man is Alexei Kuzmich. The Belarusian artist is 33 years old, he is currently in Paris. On his Facebook page, Kuzmich published a letter in Russian and French to French President Macron, which contains the following lines: “Today I came to make a revolution.” Kuzmich mentions the “Molotov cocktail” and writes that France is allegedly “slipping into fascism.” The artist also posted a video on YouTube in which he fills a bottle with liquid. In the titles, one can read that “democracy is possible only through the Molotov cocktail.” The task of the authorities is to make cocktails blank. For the first time, a wider audience heard about him at the beginning of October 2019. Together with five other artists, he participated in the exhibition of the National Center for Contemporary Arts “Presence”. Then Kuzmich came to the opening in a raincoat over his naked body, which he then took off. Before that, he drank a Viagra pill and covered himself with a sign that read “Ministry of Culture”. According to Kuzmich, this is how he wanted to protest against “bans and censorship in this state institution.” Detention of Alexey Kuzmich. Photo courtesy of the TUT.BY reader Director of the NCCA Sergei Krishtapovich described this action as a trick that harms the centre, culture and state. After that, the National Center for Contemporary Art filed a complaint with the police against Kuzmich. The Internal Affairs Directorate of the Sovetsky District Administration of Minsk carried out an inquiry, as a result of which it refused to initiate a criminal case. The artist was also not brought to administrative responsibility. In February 2020, he burned his installation “540”, which he exhibited at the National Center for Contemporary Arts, blindfolded, took off his shirt and pierced his bare chest with a pin with the Belarusian Republican Youth Union badge. He timed his action to coincide with the entry into force of amendments to the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Countering Extremism.” In August 2020, on election day, Kuzmich held a rally dedicated to the presidential election. It took place at a school in Minsk, where one of the polling stations was located. Kuzmich left the voting booth wearing a loincloth. On his chest, he had a ballot paper with a phallic symbol drawn on it and stood in a cross position. After the elections, Kuzmich was blocked in his apartment and detained. On September 1, 2020, he left Belarus.