Russian police raided an art gallery late Monday to seize a painting that depicted President Vladimir Putin and former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in women’s underwear.
Authorities said the satirical piece in the “Museum of Power” gallery in St. Petersburg, which has Putin in a slip dress combing the hair of Medvedev – who is wearing a bra – had broken unspecified laws, Reuters reports.
A Russian law against insulting authorities carries a one-year prison term for some offenders.
Gallery staff told Reuters that police also removed a painting that depicted the head of the Russian Orthodox Church covered in tattoos and others that poked fun at Russian lawmakers who backed anti-gay laws.
Alexander Donskoy, “Museum of Power’s” owner, said the gallery was shut down and called the police’s actions an illegal seizure.
