A Russian exile who spent years mocking Vladimir Putin in satirical paintings has been shot dead in Poland in what investigators are treating as a targeted assassination, days after staging a provocative protest outside the Russian embassy in Berlin and claiming to have received threats from pro-Kremlin supporters.
Semyon Skrepetsky, 44, whose real name is Robert Kuzovkov, was shot five times in a car park in the eastern Polish city of Biała Podlaska, around 40 kilometres from the Belarusian border, on Monday. Polish prosecutors confirmed that a lone gunman approached him at close range and fired two shots before standing over him as he lay on the ground and firing three more rounds. Five shell casings and a Geco 9mm Luger bullet were recovered at the scene.
Marcin Kozak, spokesman for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin, confirmed: “When the victim fell to the ground, the perpetrator approached, fired three more shots and then quickly fled the scene. Robert K died at the scene.” An autopsy has been scheduled as police continue to piece together the execution-style killing, which an initial probe points towards having been a deliberate hit.
A major manhunt is under way. Police detained two Belarusian citizens aged 33 and 37 near the Belarusian consulate shortly afterwards, and a taxi driver was reportedly questioned over allegedly transporting potential suspects from Warsaw. Police spokesman Andrzej Fijołek warned the primary suspect may have changed clothes and said: “At the moment, the most important thing is to establish his identity and detain him as quickly as possible.”
Skrepetsky had become well known in Russian opposition circles for his politically charged artwork, which regularly depicted Putin as a blood-soaked dictator and mocked Kremlin allies including Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov. Just days before his death, on 12 June, he staged a demonstration outside the Russian embassy in Berlin, pulling a Russian flag from his trousers, throwing it into a bin and carrying a painting of Joseph Stalin holding a baby Vladimir Putin. He had also reportedly claimed to have received threats from pro-Putin supporters in the days before he was killed.
The killing comes amid a broader picture of mounting pressure on Putin’s critics and internal dissent within Russia’s pro-war information space. Pro-Putin blogger Yegor Guzenko, known online as “Thirteenth,” has gone missing after being deployed on what fellow soldiers described as a “cannon fodder” frontline mission, following rare public criticism of the Kremlin’s war messaging in which he accused officials of “lies.” Separately, prominent Kremlin supporter Ilya Remeslo published a dramatic post titled “Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin,” calling for the Russian leader to resign and face trial as a war criminal. He accused Putin of dragging Russia into a failing war and warned of growing instability. Reports subsequently suggested Remeslo had been placed in a psychiatric hospital, though no official reason was given.
Russian opposition MP Vyacheslav Markhayev warned that the country was “on the brink of a social explosion,” urging the government to rethink the war in Ukraine. “We need a clear, public plan to end the special military operation, based on Russia’s national interests,” he said. “The time for illusions has passed. The country is on the brink of a social explosion, and full responsibility for this will lie with the irremovable authorities.”
