In St. Petersburg, they refused to open a case about the mining of the “Yablok” office

The police could not find the person who reported the bombing of the office of the Yabloko party in St. Petersburg. The department refused to open a criminal case, the party reports with reference to the investigator’s report. After the police visit, the anti-war paintings of the artist Elena Osipova were taken out of the premises.

It follows from the investigator’s document that the call to the police about the presence of an explosive device in the party’s office was made by an unknown person on February 1. As he passed by, he heard a fragment of a conversation between two men, one of whom was telling the other that “an exhibition is taking place in the party office and it will soon explode.” It was this application that became the reason for the visit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The resolution notes that the police were able to establish the number from which the call was made, but could not find out who it belonged to.

On February 1, the police cordoned off the office of the party allegedly due to a call about the building being mined. Everyone who was in the office was taken outside. During the police visit, party members were preparing documents for candidates for by-elections in municipalities. The police did not find the bomb, but they took away the paintings of the artist Osipova, whose anti-war exhibition opened the day before in the same room.

Artist Elena Osipova is 77 years old. In St. Petersburg, she often goes to protest actions and single pickets. She was detained almost every time. After the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Osipova created a series of paintings and posters with which she went out into the street. Several times they tried to tear or burn her works.