A topless activist with a Kiev-based women's rights group threw herself at Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on Thursday, shouting "Go away!" before being detained by security.
The incident occurred at a Kiev airport shortly after the head of the Russian Orthodox Church stepped off a business jet to begin a three-day official visit to Ukraine.
The rights group, Femen, named Yana Zhdanova as the activist who had run up to the patriarch with the words "Kill Kirill" scrawled in black ink on her bare back.
Zhdanova got within a few meters of a startled-looking Kirill and a delegation of clergymen before being restrained by a man in a cream-colored suit and matching shoes.
Femen, in a statement posted on its LiveJournal blog, accused Kirill of harming Ukraine's interests by trying to drag the country into a Eurasia union with Russia and encouraging the illegal detention of anti-Putin activists — a likely reference to the female Pussy Riot band members awaiting trial in Moscow over an anti-government performance in Christ the Savior Cathedral in February.
Church officials called the activist's behavior "shameful," recalling that the church has always been the target of such attacks.
"It is disgraceful that people are trying to cast a cloud over Patriarch Kirill's visit to Ukraine with pranks like this," Alexander Volkov, head of the patriarch's press service, told Interfax.
Volkov said the Femen activist's move showed that Kirill's visit to Ukraine is hugely significant and reflected "the deep spiritual crisis in certain layers of society."
Femen has staged many topless protests in Ukraine and a few in other countries, including at Davos, Switzerland, to coincide with the World Economic Forum.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
