VENICE, ITALY — Members of the punk group Pussy Riot and Ukraine's feminist organization FEMEN staged a protest at the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale on May 6, 2026. Participants covered their faces with pink balaclavas, released clouds of pink, blue and yellow smoke, and rushed the venue in the Giardini exhibition area while yelling "Russia's art is blood" and "Disobey."

Italian police blocked the entrance to the Russian pavilion site during the demonstration, which blocked access to the venue for about 30 minutes. Pussy Riot founder Nadya Tolokonnikova said efforts to contact the Biennale organizers had failed, and that she used an assumed name to get through security to enter the Giardini venue.

Tolokonnikova spoke about Russian artists who oppose the government. "Those people make art, and I want that art to represent Russia, because they represent the real face of Russia," she said.

Russia's participation in the first Biennale since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine cost the contemporary art fair 2 million euros in European Union funding. The Russian pavilion features a series of musical performances in a downstairs space and is scheduled to be open only for the first week of previews before the official opening of the Biennale on May 9, 2026.

The jury that awards the Golden Lion prizes resigned the previous week to protest the participation of Russia and Israel at the Biennale. The jury had said it would not award prizes to countries under investigation for human rights abuses by the International Criminal Court.

The Biennale organizers defended the inclusion of Russia, stating any country that has relations with Italy may be included. The Rome government opposed the decision to include Russia in the Biennale while acknowledging the Biennale's independence.