Putin objects to cardboard figures

On the Monday before Shrove Tuesday (“Rosenmontag”), numerous carnival floats roll through cities across Germany – especially in the Rhineland – featuring oversized figures that comment on current politics – in a mocking, exaggerated and sometimes provocative style. One of the key figures behind these “themed floats” is the Düsseldorf-based sculptor Jacques Tilly – and he is now facing trouble with Moscow. 

Russian authorities have opened criminal proceedings against Tilly. He is accused of “discrediting” Russian state institutions – including not only the army but also President Vladimir Putin. Tilly is also alleged to have offended religious feelings. The allegations were triggered by a sculpture showing Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill kneeling with his mouth in the groin area of a figure representing Putin. 

Under Russian criminal law, Tilly faces a fine or imprisonment of up to ten years. A court spokesperson said the hearing had once again been postponed because witnesses failed to appear. The new date is 26 February.

Tilly: “Satire works – satire hurts”

For understandable reasons, Tilly himself will not travel to Russia – and for the time being, not to other Russia-friendly countries either. The trial is being conducted in his absence, with representatives of the German embassy following proceedings on site. On substance, the artist rejects the accusations that he addressed the Russian army in his works. Tilly considers the proceedings to be politically motivated – and an absurd response to carnival satire. “My first reaction was disbelief, because it is completely disproportionate for the Russian state to take action against cardboard figures, against satire,” he told ZDF. For him, this is also a confirmation: “Satire works, satire hurts.” 

Wüst: “This reflects our democratic freedom of expression”

The carnival artist is receiving political backing in his home state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). NRW Minister-President Hendrik Wüst sharply criticised the Russian criminal proceedings against Tilly: “Art and carnival are a living expression of our democratic freedom of expression.”

Freedom of expression and artistic freedom are fundamental rights in Germany, enshrined in Article 5 of the Basic Law, i.e. the German constitution. It guarantees everyone the right to freely express and disseminate their opinions in speech, writing and images. What is more, German case law emphasises that satire may provoke social debate through exaggeration, irony and provocation – especially during carnival.

According to Tilly, he has still not been officially informed about the proceedings. He says he learned of them “by chance”, including through the association ‍Freies Russland NRW. The situation is even more unsettling in view of the fact that a court-appointed defence lawyer has been assigned to him whom he has never spoken to.

Tilly suspects the proceedings are primarily intended as a threatening gesture: critics are meant to be intimidated – on the understanding that the authorities are watching very closely who attacks Putin and Russia’s war policy. But he will not let it deter him: “We’ll carry on doing our work for carnival!” Though as is typical of carnival, he is not saying which motifs will roll through Düsseldorf this year. His answer: “Wait and see!”