St. Petersburg artist Elena Osipova, 77, was asked at the Peaceful Art Protest exhibition opening whether she is scared to display her courageous artworks in Russia now, when criminal charges are filed for any rash statement. This was her response:
“I am not scared of anything. This is my country, my Motherland. Why can’t I say or do something in my country in a peaceful manner, without weapons? I can do anything,” the tiny grey-haired woman with bright green eyes confidently said. “And the Russian Constitution, which is now obliterated, did allow this.”