July 14, 2025

The "No" Exhibition


The "No" Exhibition
Flowers raised at the funeral of Alexey Navalny | Прикли Wikimedia Commons

Sunday, July 9, marked the end of the over two-month display of the “No” exhibition at Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien in Berlin. The exhibition’s title, “Нет” in Russian, succinctly reflects the project’s mission: resilience in the face of modern crises. The exhibition is a joint effort by a team of artists and Meduza, the online publication founded by Russian journalists in exile.

The exhibition featured nine sections: Dictatorship, Censorship, Exile, War, Resilience, Fear, Loneliness, Polarization, and Hope. Each housed three interrelated narratives: an essay, a piece of visual artwork, and a video interview related to the title subject.

A vast range of voices were represented across the project, all speaking to resistance. The category “Censorship,” for example, hosted a video narration from Galina Timochenko, the CEO of Meduza, in which Timochenko highlighted her journey with colleagues after leaving Russia in 2014, foreseeing a crisis of censorship, and their subsequent mission to deliver information to Russian speakers despite the repression of media outlets and the targeted arrests of journalists.

In the category “Hope,” a painting by artist Aleksey Dubinsky called “The First Day of Spring” depicts the crowd at the funeral of Alexey Navalny, the anti-corruption activist who died in 2024 in a Russian prison under suspicious circumstances. The funeral drew a crowd of tens of thousands. To reflect this, Dubinsky’s painting circles the length of the walls in its room, showing an extensive procession and highlighting hope in unity despite the profound loss.

Though the “No” exhibition has completed its run in Berlin, the artworks and interviews displayed are still featured online at the exhibition website. Meduza continues to report on Russia, and the many artists who collaborated on the exhibition continue their projects highlighting modern resistance.

You Might Also Like

Russia's War on Books
  • May 22, 2025

Russia's War on Books

Police in arrested 10 current and former employees of Russia's largest publishing house on charges of "LGBT propaganda."
Artists in Custody
  • March 25, 2025

Artists in Custody

Russia currently has 42 "cultural" figures who are political prisoners and another 176 on their way to becoming the same.
Fines for Navalny Nods
  • February 17, 2025

Fines for Navalny Nods

More than 150 Russians have been fined or arrested for using symbols associated with Alexei Navalny.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955