Authoritarianism Is a Disease

From August 15 through September 4, Amsterdam’s De Balie Cultural Center will host Artists Against the Kremlin. It is their second exhibition there.

The exhibit, curated by the Berlin-based art collective All Rights Reserved and supported by the Moscow Times, had its first run in August 2024. The initial exhibition drew over 5,000 visitors, making it one of the largest independent political art events last year, with over 100 artists, more than 150 works, and a series of accompanying talks and performances.

The second iteration of this exhibition will follow the same themes (anti-authoritarianism and dissent), and and a third: “Virus.” The artists will explore authoritarianism as a disease, looking at the infectious spread of the Kremiln’s dangerous narratives throughout Russia and beyond.

This year some 50+ artists have contributed to the exhibit, many of whom are returning. The roster includes Nadya Tolokonnikova, an activist and founding member of the punk group "Pussy Riot"; Danila Tkachenko, a prominent documentary photographer; and Sasha Skochilenko, an artist, musician, and author formerly held as a political prisoner.

Many of the participating artists have had their own experiences combatting the Russian government’s strict crackdowns. Some live in exile, some have been labeled “foreign agents,” and some have served time. This year, all profits from ticket sales will be donated to charities aimed at supporting political prisoners.

The more things change, the more they…:

“Bolshevism it’s not a policy, it is a disease. Civilization is being completely extinguished over gigantic areas while Bolsheviks hop and caper like troops of ferocious baboons amid the ruins of cities and the corpses of their victims.”

- Winston Churchill, April 1919