In August, Finland will host the first exhibition of works by Russian political prisoner Anastasia Dyudyaeva

Anastasia is an artist and illustrator, and by training a teacher of visual arts. In 2024, she was sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony, and her husband, Alexander Dotsenko, to three years in prison. Both were added to the Russian financial monitoring list of terrorists and extremists — the investigation claimed the couple left a postcard with verses about Stepan Bandera in a Lenta supermarket window on Tallinn Highway in St. Petersburg.

While in pre-trial detention, Anastasia created many drawings illustrating the Kalevala and other Finnish fairytale motifs. She had a dream — to present her artwork to the Finnish public. That dream is coming true.

The exhibition will take place from August 6 to 28 at the Maunula-talo Cultural Center in Helsinki.

Currently, contact with Anastasia has been lost: she was taken from the detention center, which likely means she is being transferred to a penal colony. We hope that when she is able to reconnect with the outside world, the news of the exhibition will give her strength to endure this unjust imprisonment.

📝 On the opening day, Initiative FoReDi will host a letter-writing evening in support of Anastasia. We will explain how to write letters to political prisoners, provide postcards and pens, and send all letters to her.

We will announce the exact opening time closer to August.

This exhibition is an act of solidarity and support for Anastasia in her fight for peace.