Voina's Children Get Beaten By Police

Voina may have gotten out of jail, but their problems did not end there. Members of Voina, and their children, were beaten by Russian police so badly that even braids of hair were ripped out. Click the jump for more

With financial help from Banksy, the imprisoned members of Voina posted bail last week.

Well, last night the Russian police accosted and beat up members of Voina so badly that hair was ripped out. Even the children who were with the members of Viona were knocked about.

Here is a rundown of the attack that the Voina members sent AnimalNY "When we left the press conference in the Ligovsky prospect, we noticed that we were followed by a group of typical thugs. We observed that those were clearly anti-extremism officers… One police officer attacked Lenya from behind. They waved their IDs but we couldn’t examine them. They pushed baby pram away and hit Kasper against his face causing a bruise on his left chick. Two others knocked Kozlyenok down into the paddle and started kicking her. They injured her hand very seriously. I managed to free myself from the officers who were holding me and covered Kozlyenok with my body. The blows rained against my back and head. Kozlyenok’s face was already bashed. What’s more when they dragged her by hair, they pulled out one of her braids. The officers were trying to take away a camera from her. But she held it tightly. Activist Lyubka seized one of the officers and he bit her hand…"

This is really frightening, and it seems like the governments in power, not just the ones in Russia, are utilizing ever escalating base and brutal tactics to try and quiet dissent.

Its NOT Voina Force Kissing Russian Female Police

What is going on in Russia?!

Apparently, a group claiming to be Voina is taking credit for the 'forced kissing' of female Russian Police Officers by other females, but Voina denies that it is them.

As they told AnimalNY, "We have to inform you that the Voina Group has nothing to do with the action engaging young girls kissing female police officers. So “Лобзай мусора” is not ours. Well, you probably guessed it at once. First of all, it’s not an action at all. It’s a weak flesh mob. Second, it just cannot compare with such Voina actions as Dick captured by KGB or Palace revolution. We make massive, monumental art. Besides, it’s obvious that the Voina Group would never kiss policemen. We prefer to fuck them with our 65-meter-Dick!"

So the kissing is not Voina, but we are left wondering what is going on in Russia?! We always thought it was an unforgiving place with a rigid system that doesn't allow for dissent, but these pranks pulled by Voina and others are beyond brazen, and would most likely lead to an arrest in the US. We hope to keep following what happens with 'street art' in Russia, and those who are interested can watch the Youtube video of the female Police Officers getting kissed HERE

Voina -Throwing Cats At McDonald's Workers

To celebrate International Workers Day, the art activism group Voina, threw stray cats at McDonald's workers.

This prank is not one of our favorites. We can understand protesting McDonalds, but in this case, it seems like the innocents are becoming victims themselves. The poor cat and worker, as if minimum wage in russia isn't bad enough.

Still, like a car wreck, we can't stop marveling at this picture, and the lengths that Voina will go to with their art.

Voina And The 231-Foot Penis

This is the gag that got Voina arrested.

Placement is everything, and not only did they paint a 231 foot penis on a retractable drawbridge, it took some real balls to hit this particular spot. Click the jump below for more

Voina is the street art activist group in Russia whose leaders were arrested and locked in jail last year for this giant penis, among other things. And the financial support sent by Banksy, helped secure their release on bond this past weekend. We are going to cover some of their most outrageous antics over the next few days.

This penis was placed on the Liteyny Bridge, which leads to the headquarters of the Federal Security Service in Russia.

The FSS is the revamped KGB, and it is like the FBI, CIA, DEA, ICE, and the NSA combined.

It took some real balls to go big like this in front of the home of the FSS, and you can see why the Russian government is so put out by these activists.

Banksy's Art Helps Free Prisoners

The sale of Banksy art helped the defense fund and secure the release of imprisoned street art activists in Russia. Click the jump for more

When Banksy heard about the art group Voina getting arrested and beaten while in custody, he pledged 90,000 pounds help the cause, and held a sale for his prints to raise the money. (We tried our luck in the lottery but didn't get one.)

With the help of this money, the two Voina prisoners were released.

We had heard vague stories that street artists were imprisoned, and we thought they were just pasting and painting. But until we did some research, we had no idea what kind of stunts Voina has pulled. They go beyond street art into public interruptions like throwing stray cats at McDonalds workers, public sex, and painting a 200 foot penis on a retractable bridge. We are so impressed with their campaign that we are going to feature some of their events in the next few days.

And its very cool to see how Banksy is using his influence and cash flow to help aid other artists.

Banksy, you would be a living legend (if you are not already) and get mad props if you took a million dollars or so and set up a foundation to help with the legal defense of accused street artists. Just sayin'~