Sviatoslav LAVRUSENKO: “I painted the truth...”

The first of them, which depicted the forcible dispersal of the student protest on November 30, has already been painted over. Another drawing, showing Maidan as it was on December 1, can still be seen near tram stop No. 16 in Velyky Fontan neighborhood, located close to the new quay. The Day found the drawings’ author and talked to him.

“For me, it is both a creative effort born by the Maidan events and a peculiar form of protest, which I have chosen because I cannot be currently in Kyiv and support people’s freedom of choice in a more direct way,” the artist Sviatoslav Lavrusenko told The Day. “I decided to do something noticeable. Images will make it clear that the authorities’ actions are wrong, and that we should fight for our right to vote and choose freely. Some people have misunderstood my works. I did not call on people to beat up riot police or engage in violent provocations. We need to advocate our opinions, but to do so in non-violent ways only. At first I did not even know that they had my first graffiti painted over. When I went to draw the next piece, I saw a white square on the site of the previous one. I was approached by two municipal employees who said they had received orders by phone to paint over my graffiti, and they added that all my future graffiti in this mold would be painted over, and some unspecified stronger actions would be taken against me. Still, I am not afraid. To be afraid of what is happening and hide in burrows is not an option. I do not think my work is some crime. I painted the truth.”

Lavrusenko told The Day that his next work will appear at the same place, at the request of the people. The coming graffiti will be devoted to the events near the Presidential Administration building.