Court in Novosibirsk un-bans satirical map mocking Russian racists and xenophobes

A regional court in Novosibirsk has overturned a January 2016 ruling that banned a satirical map of Russia’s “near abroad.” The authorities previously declared the map to be a work of illegal extremism because it identifies countries along Russia’s border with racist epithets. Created by the artist Alexey Kudelin (better known by his pseudonym, Vasya Lozhkin), the map actually lampoons racists and xenophobes, depicting their view of the world in hyperbole.

The painting currently belongs to the businessman Alexey Khodorkovsky. In October 2016, police interrogated a man living in St. Petersburg for posting a photograph of the painting on his Vkontakte page.