Artist Who Humiliated Putin Murdered in Poland

A Russian artist who spent years humiliating Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin’s inner circle with blistering political cartoons has been gunned down in what authorities are treating as a chilling execution-style killing in eastern Poland.

Robert Kuzovkov, 44, who created satirical work under the name Semyon Skrepetsky, was shot five times Monday in a parking lot in Biała Podlaska, a city near Poland’s border with Belarus. One of the bullets struck him in the head.

The killing happened roughly 600 meters from the Belarusian consulate, immediately raising alarms given Kuzovkov’s history of mocking Putin, Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov and other powerful figures tied to Russia’s authoritarian power structure.

Polish police later detained two Belarusian men, ages 33 and 37, near the consulate. Authorities have not yet publicly confirmed a motive, but the circumstances have fueled suspicion that Kuzovkov’s years of anti-Kremlin satire may have made him a target.

According to prosecution spokesman Marcin Kozak, the attack unfolded with terrifying precision. The gunman first opened fire twice, then moved closer to Kuzovkov and fired three more shots before fleeing.

Kuzovkov had left Russia in 2021, fearing persecution over his politically explosive artwork. His cartoons did not spare anyone in power. He skewered Putin, Kadyrov, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, though he was best known for his sharp attacks on the Russian elite.

Just two days before his murder, Kuzovkov shared a cartoon depicting Kadyrov and his son Adam as pigs. Three days before the shooting, he had appeared at a Russia Day protest in Berlin, where he carried a caricature linking Putin to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

The killing is likely to deepen fears among Russian dissidents, exiles and anti-war voices living in Europe, many of whom have warned for years that criticizing the Kremlin can follow them far beyond Russia’s borders.

For critics of Putin, Kuzovkov’s death is another grim reminder of the danger faced by artists, journalists and activists who dare to mock authoritarian power.