Artist Vladimir Ovchinnikov walks near a building with his artwork depicting prominent people, who made contributions to space exploration, in the town of Borovsk in the Kaluga region, Russia, December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
BOROVSK, Russia (Reuters) - Over 20 years, Russian pensioner Vladimir Ovchinnikov gained a following for his street murals in the small town of Borovsk, some 70 miles (115 km) southwest of Moscow, many of which depicted the plight of victims of Stalinist-era repressions.
But on March 25, just over a month after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, Ovchinnikov created a new work, one that would place him in serious legal jeopardy.
