Pussy Riot protest at Venice Biennale forces Russian pavilion to briefly close

The Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale was forced to temporarily shutter its doors on the second day of the preview after the activist group Pussy Riot staged a chaotic protest against the country’s inclusion in the art festival.

Wearing pink balaclavas, the protesters ran towards the Russian pavilion where they gathered outside and lit pink, blue and yellow flares while playing punk music and shouting slogans, including “Blood is Russia’s Art”.

At one stage the group of about 40 activists, which included members of the feminist activist group Femen, attempted to enter the Russian pavilion but were pushed back by police who lined the entrance.

Some members had slogans, such as “Curated by Putin, dead bodies included”, “Russia kills, biennale exhibits” and “Russian art, Ukrainian blood” written on their bodies. A statue outside the pavilion was wrapped in a Ukrainian flag.

Nadya Tolokonnikova, a founding member of Pussy Riot, said she had been horrified by the sight of people partying at the Russian pavilion during the first day, where crates of prosecco were loaded into the space, which was also playing loud techno music.

Tolokonnikova, who led the protest, said: “It’s weird to me that Europe keeps saying that Ukraine is a shield for the entire European continent but it opens its doors time and time again to Russian propaganda. It’s heartbreaking for me.”

The activist pleaded with Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, the president of the biennale, to “stop taking Russian money” and speak to the group. In a press statement Pussy Riot offered to curate the 2028 Russian pavilion, pledging to use work by artists who are or have been imprisoned in Russian correctional facilities.

A diplomatic row over Russia’s involvement has been escalating. The Financial Times claimed that the European Commission had told the Italian government and the biennale’s organisers that allowing the Russian delegation to participate would breach EU sanctions.

No one was arrested during the protest, which drew a large crowd of onlookers, many of whom were bewildered visitors who had just made it into the event after standing in long queues, which snaked out of the festival site.

There has been a tense buildup to the biennale, with politics often overshadowing the art on display.

Before the event, the jury – which selects the winner of the Golden Lion prizes – resigned en masse after stating they would not consider entries from countries whose leaders were subject to international arrest warrants (a move that would bar them from including Russia and Israel).

An Italian news outlet claimed that the jury resigned after they were told by the biennale’s legal team that they could be held personally responsible if Israel decided to pursue the matter legally. On Wednesday, a representative from the biennale confirmed to the Guardian that the report was accurate.

At the official opening of the British pavilion for Lubaina Himid, a representative of the British ambassador claimed that no minister attended the event because of Russian involvement. It is customary for a minister to come out to Venice and open the pavilion, although the UK’s entry is managed by the British Council rather than the government.

The Guardian has approached the Department of Media, Culture and Sport for comment.

An hour after the Pussy Riot protest, the Art Not Genocide Alliance (Anga) staged a demonstration outside the Israeli pavilion in the Arsenale. The Israeli pavilion was locked from the inside while the group gathered in front of its doors to protest against the country’s inclusion over its continued war in Gaza.

More than 200 participants in the event have signed a letter demanding the cancellation of the Israeli pavilion, billed as “a collective refusal to allow you to platform the Israeli state as it commits genocide”.

Israel’s foreign ministry has condemned Anga, calling the group’s actions “anti-Israeli political indoctrination” and “direct discrimination”.

On Friday a demonstration coordinated by Anga is expected, which organisers say includes Italian labour unions, art workers at the event, curators and nearly 20 artists who have work on display in national pavilions. The Guardian understands some artists may create picket lines outside their pavilions and ask visitors not to enter.

Protest and politics is not a new phenomena at the biennale. In 1968, there were protests which spilled over from the wider student movement that summer – primarily aimed at the US for its involvement in the Vietnam war. Six years later the entire event was dedicated to the people of Chile, who were then under the rule of military dictator Augusto Pinochet.