Artist who 'dug up' Van Gogh nicknamed 'Putin' in deportation center

Belarusian artist Alexei Kuzmich recently wrote on Instagram about his life in a French deportation center. He was sent there after performing at Van Gogh's grave.

The deportation center is located near the Paris-Charles de Gaulle International Airport. According to Kuzmich, "planes thunder overhead every five minutes," which he watches through small bars and barbed wire.

"Breakfast is at 07:00. At the same time, our pen is opened. There are about 20 people inside. Two to a cell. I am locked up with a young Moroccan. He prays five times a day, as expected," writes the artist. According to him, there are people in this detention center who have served time for murder, armed robbery, hostage-taking, drug trafficking, and radical Islamism.

Kuzmich himself was nicknamed "Putin" by his neighbors. This is how he explains the nickname:

"One Taliban guy says that when he gets out of prison he will go fight in Ukraine. Another dreams of Putin bombing France. My neighbors don't know what Belarus is and think I'm from Russia. They have given me the nickname "Putin". Every day they offer me hashish and cocaine. I refuse and go to the horizontal bars, and they give me non-halal meat in the canteen".

The artist also says that it is difficult for him to concentrate on reading and writing because the police allegedly add some substances to his food, which makes him constantly sleepy and absent-minded.

"The Arabs laugh at me answering "good" and giving a thumbs up to all their questions. They also really like that I know the word "huya", which means "brother," writes Kuzmich.

As Euroradio reported earlier, on July 30, the artist posted a video of his performance on social networks, in which he allegedly dug Van Gogh out of a grave. Kuzmich was arrested, the court imposed a heavy fine on him and ordered him to "return to his country of origin". He was then sent to a deportation center.

A criminal case has been opened against Kuzmich in Belarus. He has made a name for himself with several raucous performances, including some with a political undertone. In February, he visited Belarus, but was able to leave only with the help of the evacuation service of the BYSOL Foundation.