Netherlands denies entry to Russian artist fleeing the Kremlin over asylum request fears
The Netherlands has denied entry to the Russian artist and former political prisoner Pavel Krisevich, who was scheduled to speak about his work at the Amsterdam debate center De Balie on Thursday. The Dutch authorities refused to grant Krisevich a temporary visa because the immigration service IND fears that he would apply for asylum in the Netherlands, De Balie director Yoeri Albrecht told NRC.
“It is currently not yet certain whether Pavel Krisevich will be able to attend this program,” the debate center wrote on its website. “The Dutch state is, at present, unwilling to grant him a visa, out of concern that he might apply for asylum. De Balie strongly protests against the refusal of the Dutch government to grant an artist a temporary visa.”
The 25-year-old Russian artist is currently trying to obtain a humanitarian visa in France. In an email exchange between De Balie and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry says that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) objected to the visa because it is “insufficiently guaranteed” that Krisevich would leave the Netherlands again. Krisevich is currently living in Montenegro, but because he lacks “permanent residence” in that country, the IND found granting him a visa too risky.
Staff at the debate center have been emailing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for “weeks” to make Krisevich’s appearance possible, Albrecht told the newspaper. He calls the IND’s refusal “censorship.”
“This goes against the artistic freedom of De Balie and the freedom of expression of the artist,” Albrecht said. “This young artist creates incredibly powerful work. It is important that he can tell his story.”
In 2022, Krisevich was imprisoned in Russia for 3.5 years after he repeatedly criticized the Russian regime through his art. In 2020, he tied himself to a wooden cross in front of the headquarters of the Russian secret service while files of political prisoners were burning in front of him. In 2021, he pretended to shoot himself in the head with a deactivated gun in Moscow’s Red Square, again in protest against the fate of political prisoners. Even in prison, he continued to make art, using sheets and his own blood to draw images of the bleak life as a political prisoner.
De Balie is showing his work as part of the exhibition Artists Against the Kremlin. Krisevich was scheduled to speak about his work in De Balie on Thursday. De Balie will legally challenge the rejection of Krisevich’s visa application, he said.
