The outdoor installation by the organization Gulag.cz presents, through artistic illustrations, the cases of current political prisoners who were convicted in Russia for their opposition to the aggression against Ukraine and other crimes of the Russian government. The traveling exhibition gives voice in the free world to stories of injustice that does not spare men or women, very young people or seniors. After numerous stops across the Czech Republic, it will also be on display in Kopřivnice from August 1 to 20.
Political persecution has deep historical roots in Russia. Repression once again serves the current regime as a tool of silencing, generating thousands of political prisoners. Their situation is presented by the Gulag.cz organization at the outdoor exhibition Putin's Cage through 10 selected stories illustrated by the Russian artist Lilya Matveyeva. However, these are only a fraction of the total number of other unjustly imprisoned people, about whose fates not much is known in Europe. At the same time, each of them deserves the attention and support of the free world.
In Russian penal colonies, unjustly imprisoned people face physical violence, denial of medical care, solitary confinement and other forms of psychological pressure. Some may even be ordered to receive inadequate psychiatric treatment with destructive medication. The prosecution of minors is no exception.
*"Prison sentences often take on a very cynical character, also due to their length, reminiscent of the worst of the times of the harshest Stalinism. In June 2025, for example, 30-year-old volunteer Nadin Gejsler, who actively helped Ukrainian refugees living in Russia, was sentenced to 22 years in prison. The state prosecutor's office had requested 27 years in prison for her. However, there are many more such cases and even more of those that are practically unknown in our country," said Štěpán Černoušek, director of the Gulag.cz organization.
The exhibition Putin's Cage thus draws attention to the fact that there are still people in Russia who are not afraid to express their civic positions. Men and women fighting for freedom and respect for human rights, even at the cost of harsh punishments and imprisonment, definitely deserve our attention and support. The individual stories represented in the exhibition are therefore supplemented with QR codes, through which interested parties can read more details and current information about specific cases online on the website of the organization Gulag.cz. They will also find detailed instructions on how to write letters to those unjustly imprisoned, which are a great moral support for them. The exhibition also includes English translations of the texts.
The exhibition will be on display in Kopřivnice in the Dr. Edvard Beneš in front of the Ringhoffer Villa from August 1 to 20, 2025. The exhibition was prepared by the Gulag.cz organization in cooperation with the city of Kopřivnice.
After two stops in Prague, two in Brno and one in Opava, Kopřivnice will be the sixth stop.
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