Yelena Osipova (Russian activist)

Yelena Andreyevna Osipova (Russian: Елена Андреевна Осипова; born November 11, 1945)[1] is an artist and political activist from Saint Petersburg.[2][3] She became popularized in the media as "grandmother for peace" when she was arrested for protesting against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4][5]

Yelena Osipova (2019)

Life

Osipova's parents were survivors of the Siege of Leningrad, but the rest of her family died.[6] Her grandmother had previously worked as a security guard in the Russian Museum. Osipova studied at the Tavricheskaya Art School.[7]

Osipova is known for participation in public protests, with placards she has made herself. She has a distinctive artistic style, gentle and fluid but also bold and sometimes cartoon-like, often depicting the ghostly horrors inflicted by state violence. One of her exhibitions was described as "a cozy basement with uncomfortable images". It included one poster, showing a mother with a dead infant. The painting was about a Tajik boy named Umarali Nazarov, who died in St. Petersburg after being forcibly taken from his mother.[8] She began publicly protesting in 2002, against the Russian's government actions during the Moscow theater hostage crisis that led to over 100 hostages dying. She also made posters about the Beslan school siege in 2004.[7]

On 2 March 2022, Osipova was amongst those arrested in St Petersburg for protesting against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[9] Footage of her arrest was widely shared on social media.[10] On 24 March 2022, she told the BBC's Russia Editor, Steve Rosenberg, that "after Russia attacked Ukraine, she was so shocked, she didn't eat for three days. Then, filled with anger, she'd taken to the streets to protest".[11]

References
  1. "Как художница и почетная гражданка Милана Елена Осипова живет в Петербурге на пенсию шесть тысяч рублей в месяц". The Village (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  2. Voltskaya, Tatyana (23 November 2015). "Yelena Osipova: "Russia Is a Bird, Not a Bear"". The Russian Reader. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  3. Echo of Moscow: Художницу-пенсионера с антивоенными плакатами обругали в день Победы в Петербурге (tr. "A retired artist with anti-war posters was scolded on Victory Day in St. Petersburg") 11 May 2017
  4. Mémoire du siège de Leningrad, Yelena Osipova manifeste encore en «grand-mère pour la paix» (tr. "Memory of the siege of Leningrad, Yelena Osipova still demonstrates as a "grandmother for peace"")
  5. Yelena Ospiova: Anti-war protester, 78, dragged away by Russian riot police www.thetimes.co.uk, accessed 13 March 2022
  6. Kotsyubinsky, Daniil (2021-02-11). "Ну, город жив!.. Петербург Елены Осиповой в Фонтанном Доме" [Well, the city is alive! Elena Osipova's Petersburg at the Fountain House]. gorod-812.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  7. "'Indifference is our main problem' Artist and activist Yelena Osipova on Russia's war against Ukraine and her 20 years of protesting Putin's regime". Meduza. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  8. The Last Picture Show therussianreader.com accessed 13 March 2022
  9. "Russian pensioner 'who survived siege of Leningrad' arrested for protest against Ukraine war – video". The Guardian. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  10. Ella Kipling (3 March 2022). "Yelena Osipova gains roaring support as Leningrad survivor arrested". HITC. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  11. Rosenberg, Steve (24 March 2022). "Ukraine-Russia: The 76-year-old artist taking on Putin". BBC News Online. Retrieved 24 March 2022.


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