Exiled Russian artist shot dead in Poland after mocking Putin; Tusk suspects state-ordered hit
Semyon Skrepetsky, known for his biting caricatures of Vladimir Putin, was shot dead near his home in eastern Poland days after a provocative protest in Berlin. Polish PM Donald Tusk called the killing a probable political murder with international implications.
The killing
On Monday, June 15, around 9:50 am, Skrepetsky was shot five times near his apartment in Biala Podlaska, eastern Poland. Three shots hit him while he was already on the ground. The assailant fled, and Skrepetsky died at the scene. Prosecutors found five 9mm Luger casings and one bullet.
The suspected perpetrator has not been arrested.
The ammunition matches the calibre used in the 2019 Berlin Tiergarten murder of a Chechen field commander and the 2024 killing of a defected Russian helicopter pilot in Spain.
Political reaction
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at a press conference on June 17 that all indications pointed to a political murder. He called it a "very serious incident of international dimension" and, if ordered by Russia, "state terrorism."
If this was a murder ordered by Russia, it would be state terrorism.
Tusk acknowledged that concrete proof was still lacking.
The artist and his final protest
Skrepetsky (born Robert Kuzowkow) left Russia in 2021 fearing persecution. He lived with his family in Biala Podlaska, near the Belarusian border. On Friday, June 12, he staged a performance walking from Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate to the Russian embassy, wearing a fur hat and medals, holding a painting of Stalin with baby Putin. He discarded a Russian flag in a trash can.
Two days before his death, he posted a new caricature depicting Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and his son as pigs. His widow said he had received threats "from all sides", Russian propagandists and Ukrainian radicals. She and their children are now in a secure location under state protection.
Investigation and suspicions
Two Belarusian nationals were initially detained but later released, according to one report; other sources said they were still in custody. A third person, an Italian, was also briefly held. The perpetrator remains at large.
This murder was not just about eliminating a person—it was also about intimidation. It sends a signal to those engaged in similar activities.
Exiled Russian circles suspect Kadyrov, notorious for having critics hunted down and killed abroad, may have ordered the hit. Polish media note the 9mm Luger ammunition and the execution-style method echo previous Russian-linked assassinations.
- Skrepetsky flees Russia and settles in Poland, fearing political persecution.
- Stages Berlin protest carrying a painting of Stalin holding baby Putin; discards Russian flag.
- Publishes a painting of Kadyrov and his son as pigs on social media.
- Shot dead by an unknown assailant near his home in Biala Podlaska.
