Natalia Sokol

Natalia Sokol
Born (1980-06-03) June 3, 1980
Balakovo, Soviet Union
Other namesKoza, Kozlionok
EducationPhD of Physics in the Lomonosov Moscow State University
Known forVoina
SpouseOleg Vorotnikov
Children3

Natalia Sokol, aka Koza, is a founder of the Russian political artist group Voina, formed in 2005 alongside her husband Oleg Vorotnikov.

Life and work

Sokol studied Molecular Physics in the Lomonosov Moscow State University. She finished with a PHD on "Optical Properties of Protein Solutions Containing Heavy Metal Ions" in 2006. She then began working at the Department of Molecular Physics, Faculty of Physics, MSU, planning to continue her research work in relation to the fight against blood cancer. As she was a member of Voina, this career was not compatible with the State University objectives. April 17, 2012, she was illegally, in violation of Russian law, fired from MSU at the time of leave to care for her second child, Mama.

Since its formation, Voina has made headlines for agitating public space and openly critiquing the Putin administration.

Natalia Sokol, better known by her artistic name Koza, is the author, coordinator, and performer of the Voina works, including, but not limited to:

  • Mordovian Hour, 2007, Throwing Cats in McDonald's[1]
  • Fuck for the heir Puppy Bear!, 2008, Pre-Election Orgy in Biological Museum[2]
  • Cop in a Priest's Robe, 2008, 21st Century Russian Hero Gets Food for the Comrades by Robbing a Supermarket[3]
  • Decembrists Commemoration, 2008, Voina Сelebrates Moscow City Day by Executing through Hanging Two Homosexuals and Three Illegal Migrant Workers inside the City's Biggest Mall[4]
  • Storming the White House, 2008, Voina Troop Takes the Russian Parliament under the Skull and Bones Laser Drawing[5]
  • Cock in the Ass, 2009, Punk Concert in the Court[6]
  • Leo the Fucknut is Our President!, 2010, Blue Bucket Attack on President's Guard Limousine[7]
  • Dick Captured by KGB, 2010, Giant Dick on Bridge[8]
  • Palace Revolution, 2010, Reformation of the Ministry of Police by Playing Football with a Child[9]

While Sokol was working as an artist and activist in Russia,[10] she experienced clashes with the Russian police.[11][12][13]

On March 3, 2011, Natalia Sokol was beaten by police on the street after a public lecture. Her child, Kasper, and other activists in attendance were injured. Sokol's camera was broken.[14]

On March 31, 2011, Kasper was kidnapped during a demonstration on the street in the center of Saint Petersburg by Russian police.[15] Sokol and her husband, Oleg Vorotnikov, were arrested.[16] Later, Sokol and Vorotnikov discovered police had brought their son into the City Children's Hospital as an unidentified child.[17] The family reunited following Sokol's escape from a police van.

Another criminal case against Sokol was opened in which she was accused of assaulting and insulting police officers.[18] It is alleged she was then pressured and threatened by the Russian authorities with both forced labor and imprisonment.[19] Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Sokol in her absence,[20] while Russian police announced that Sokol was also declared an internationally wanted criminal searched by Interpol.[21]

The night of October 18, 2011, Sokol and her 2-year-old son Kasper were arrested after meeting with German TV channel ARD.[22] They escaped after spending the night behind bars.

In December 2011, the Dzerzhinsky District Court in Saint Petersburg issued an arrest warrant for Sokol. Voina claimed that Natalia Sokol was charged with insulting and using violence against police officers (articles 319 and 318 of the Criminal Code). The charges were first revealed to the defense during a court session on December 6, 2011.[23] Her attorney expressed his indignation and denied the investigator's claims that Natalia had missed her arraignments on multiple occasions. However, the judge sided with the investigators to arrest Natalia Sokol in absentia.[24][25]

At that time, Sokol, who was pregnant with her second child, consulted a specialized medical facility "Women Consultant", where she sought medical assistance. Instead, the doctors called the police.[26] Subsequently, Mama, Sokol's daughter, was born in hiding.[27]

In 2012 Natalia together with other leaders of Voina was announced as an associated curator of Berlin Biennale.[28][29]

On April 28, 2015, Natalia Sokol while speaking at a public event in Zurich, asked for political asylum, claiming that her husband and her children aged four and six were still in Russia.[30]

Natalia arrived in Switzerland while nine months pregnant with her third child, separated from her husband and co-founder of Voina, Oleg Vorotnikov, and their two children, Kasper (then 6 years old) and Mama (then 3 years). Vorotnikov and their children were unable to legally join Sokol at the time, as they were legally undocumented. As of November 2011, Oleg Vorotnikov is wanted by Interpol.[31]

On March 20, 2016, Natalia Sokol, Oleg Vorotnikov, and their three children were attacked by an armed mob of 20 people in their apartment in Basel.[32] The perpetrators broke the door to family's apartment, attacked the parents and children with tear gas and kidnapped the naked children while they were bathing.[33] The perpetrators bound Vorotnikov's hands and legs with Scotch tape and strangled him. Following Oleg's assault, they attacked Sokol with wooden sticks. The attackers stole laptops belonging to Voina, including hard drives containing artistic and scientific archives, and iPads belonging to the children.[34] On November 10, 2017, Voina published video documentation of the attack.[35] The video shows an armed attack on the family and the kidnapping of their children by an armed group of the ‘Wasserstrasse’ organization,[36] self-proclaimed Swiss human right activists.[37] The video of the crime was confiscated by the police.[38] The Basel prosecutor office opened a criminal case against Sokol and Vorotnikov for their attempts to attract media attention towards the attack.[39]

Prosecution identified the crimes committed against the family as follows: multiple counts of kidnapping, deprivation of liberty, repeated attempts to endanger life, multiple counts of coercion, physical assault, multiple counts of intent to inflict serious bodily injury, robbery, multiple counts of material damage, trespassing, multiple counts of violence and threat to authorities and officials, and disturbance of peace.[40]

Amnesty International acknowledged the xenophobic nature of the attack on family in Switzerland.[41]

Vorotnikov stated in an interview with Radio Free Europe that the family wants to return Russia but worries about the fate of their three children.[42]

On March 2, 2018, Voina arrived in Graz, Austria, to participate in the Elevate Festival under the topic 'Risk and Courage'.[43] At the festival, a documentary of the kidnapping Voina's kids by an armed group of Swiss extremists was presented to the public for the first time.[44] There was backlash to the video, with some festival participants requesting to be completely removed from the showing.[45]

On September 11, 2018, Natalia Sokol and her three children were arrested in the residence of the Voina Group in the Eastern Alps, the Federal Land of Styria, just after the children returned from school.[46] Sokol and her children were escorted to the city prison of Graz (PAZ Graz: 8010 Graz Sauraugasse 1), where they all were imprisoned in the cell no. 303.[47]

On September 20, 2018, the European arrest warrant (EAW) for Sokol's husband, the leader of the Voina Group, Oleg Vorotnikov (Vor of Voina) on charges of illegal weapons possession and trafficking was issued by the Austrian police.[48]

According to Sokol and her husband, Austrian authorities used the 'Einsatzkommando Cobra' special anti-terrorism unit, equipped with helicopters and a squad with dogs to search and arrest Vorotnikov.[49][50] 'Cobra' stormed the Voina residence,[51] partly destroying the mountain chalet.[52]

On her appeal at the Federal Administrative Court of the Republic of Austria in Vienna, Sokol described the arrest and imprisonment of herself and her children in Graz City Prison. According to Sokol, she and her children were kept in torture conditions and subjected to round-the-clock surveillance in prison, and on September 12, 2018, the prison guards attacked the mother in front of the children; two warders beat Sokol with an iron door of the 'family' cell no. 303 for a request to give the children their warm clothes confiscated during the arrest. Walks in the prison yard were prohibited both to mother and the children throughout the entire term of imprisonment.[53]

In May 2019, together with her husband and the leader of Voina Oleg Vorotnikov, Sokol was charged by the Austrian police with creating and running a militant anti-fascist group and arms trafficking. Citing a final version of the indictment, Sokol has been charged with involvement in the creation and leadership of a militant group called ‘Der Krieg’ (‘The War’ or ‘Voina’ in Russian).[54] Austria has issued an international warrant for Vorotnikov's arrest.[55]

The group's activity, according to the indictment, is aimed at inciting murder and violence, causing serious material damage to governmental property, military infrastructure, culture monuments and sites of religious worship as well as inflicting serious bodily harm on officials on duty and perpetrating a range of other offences.

Sokol is also charged with arms trafficking on the territory of Austria. In a previous indictment filed in January 2019, she was charged with weapons smuggling. However, that charge was dropped after all melee weapons and firearms seized from her at the time were found to be of Austrian origin.

Sokol and her three children were imprisoned in Austria until January 2019, and then transferred to the Traiskirchen refugee camp.[56] Sokol was taken into custody in September 2018 as Vorotnikov's alleged accomplice in the creation of Der Krieg and the arms trade.[57]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Art shock troops mock Russian establishment". Reuters. July 23, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  2. ↑ "THE EXILE – Boning For Medvedev". exile.ru. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  3. ↑ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  4. ↑ art-group Voina (December 22, 2012), voina execution, retrieved July 22, 2019
  5. ↑ ebzaname (November 8, 2008), Захват Белого дома / Storming of the White House, retrieved July 22, 2019
  6. ↑ thehuivochko (June 12, 2009), Выступление в Таганском районном суде / Cock In the Ass, retrieved July 22, 2019
  7. ↑ "Le seau bleu, emblème de la fronde russe contre la "gyropharocratie"" [The blue bucket, emblem of the Russian sling against the "gyropharocracy"]. Libération.fr (in French). June 2, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  8. ↑ Parfitt, Tom (April 8, 2011). "Voina, art group backed by Banksy, wins Russian prize for erection". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  9. ↑ samuchitel (December 18, 2012), Помог ребенку – помог стране! / How to tumble a police car, retrieved July 22, 2019
  10. ↑ Rutherford, Annie (December 2, 2011). "Russia's women: activists, students and journalists who dominate (8 images)". Cafébabel. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  11. ↑ "The arrest". Tumblr. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  12. ↑ MsPlen (December 20, 2010), BBC Radio 4 Сюжет о Войне.mp4, retrieved July 22, 2019
  13. ↑ Саксагыр, Кумыс; Писательwrote, Православный; Саксагыр, 2010-11-22 13:26:00 Кумыс; Adolfych 22 November 2010 13:26:00, Православный Писатель. "Волю Войне!". adolfych.livejournal.com. Retrieved July 22, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Radio Free Europe: Art Group Activists Beaten In St. Petersburg
  15. ↑ "В борьбе властей с оппозицией в РФ пострадал младенец". Reuters (in Russian). April 1, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  16. ↑ Arte TRACKS (August 16, 2016), Voina – Anarcho-Kunst aus Russland // SUMMER OF SCANDALS, retrieved July 22, 2019
  17. ↑ Russia: anche un bambino di due anni arrestato dagli Omon (it)
  18. ↑ "Criminal charges against Natalia "Kozlenok" Sokol – Free Voina". en.free-voina.org. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  19. ↑ Sturdee, Nick (April 12, 2011). "Don't raise the bridge: Voina, Russia's art terrorists". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  20. ↑ Censorship, Index on (October 19, 2011). "Russia: VOINA artist arrested, detained without charge". Index on Censorship. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  21. ↑ Petersburg, Walter Mayr in St (December 21, 2011). "Russia's Art Revolution: Voina Challenges Putin with Imagination". Spiegel Online. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  22. ↑ 3literhvataet (October 31, 2011), Voina at ARD, retrieved July 22, 2019{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ↑ https://tass.ru/obschestvo/514167 Tass, International News Agency
  24. ↑ "Protest Against the International Warrant Issued for Natalia Sokol". berlinbiennale.de. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Arrest warrant issued for pregnant Voina activist Natalia Sokol". en.free-voina.org. December 7, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Активистка арт-группы "Война" Наталья Сокол объявлена в международный розыск :: Декабрь :: 2011 :: Новости :: Zeki.su". zeki.su. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Reportage: Mama of Voina". Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  28. ↑ "Forget Fear – Biennalen – Berlin Biennale".
  29. ↑ "Der Kurator der 7. Berlin Biennale für zeitgenössische Kunst – Berlin Biennale". blog.berlinbiennale.de. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  30. ↑ Simone Meier, Petar Marjanovic (April 29, 2015). "Natalia "Koza" Sokol vom Künstlerkollektiv Voina trat am Dienstag im Zürcher Cabaret Voltaire mit ihrer Geschichte vor die Presse. Sie bittet um politisches Asyl in der Schweiz" (in German). Watson. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  31. ↑ Vorotnikov, Oleg Wanted by the judicial authorities of Russia for prosecution }
  32. ↑ "A German artist Eugen Georg describes the Attack on the Voina members and their kids in Basel March 20 2016". Freie Voina. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  33. ↑ "Hausbesetzer wegen Kidnapping angeklagt – es hätte Tote geben können". Aargauer Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Hausbesetzer wegen Kidnapping angeklagt – es hätte Tote geben können". bz – Zeitung für die Region Basel (in Swiss High German). Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  35. ↑ VOINA KIDS KIDNAPPED BY AN ARMED MOB IN BASEL, retrieved July 23, 2019
  36. ↑ Xenophobic attack on a Russian family in Switzerland, retrieved June 20, 2022
  37. ↑ "Wasserstrasse 21 – 39". www.wasserstrasse.ch. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  38. ↑ "Яндекс.Фотки" (in Russian). Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  39. ↑ Group, Voina Art (August 4, 2017). "NATALYA SOKOL announced the article of the Swiss Criminal Code in the SWITZERLAND VS VOINA case: Art. 73 6". @free_voina_en. Retrieved July 23, 2019. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  40. ↑ "Anklageschrift. Basel, Schweiz. Das Verbrechen gegen die Familie VOINA". Freie Voina. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  41. ↑ "Christa Ackermann, Amnesty International, Bern: 'The attack on the Voina Family was xenophobic in nature'". Twitter. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  42. ↑ Fugitive Russian Protest Artist, Now Putin Supporter, Seeks Asylum In Europe, Radio Free Europe (September 23, 2016)
  43. ↑ Voina group on Elevate Festival
  44. ↑ Voina (March 3, 2018), КОЗА СПАСЛА ВОРА ИЗ ШВЕЙЦАРСКОГО КОНЦЛАГЕРЯ — 2 МАРТА 2018, retrieved July 23, 2019
  45. ↑ Festival, Elevate (June 8, 2018), Risk: Art and Activism – Taking Matters Further >> Elevate Festival 2018, retrieved July 23, 2019
  46. ↑ "Natalya Sokol". www.facebook.com. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  47. ↑ Voina (September 26, 2018), КОЗА С ДЕТЬМИ В АВСТРИЙСКОЙ ТЮРЬМЕ, retrieved July 23, 2019
  48. ↑ "Австрийская полиция выдала ордер на арест основателя арт-группы "Война" Воротникова". Interfax.ru. September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  49. ↑ Война, Группа (September 21, 2018). "Для задержания Вора Войны привлечена бригада полицейских с собаками. Прочесывают лес в резиденции Войны Кадр из интервью Вора Пятому каналу, 21 сентpic.twitter.com/yjCBI2RRTB". @free_voina (in Russian). Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  50. ↑ Война, Группа (September 22, 2018). "Три вертолета барражируют над лесом, где укрывается Вор Войныpic.twitter.com/Ee8dMl3Un2". @free_voina (in Russian). Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  51. ↑ Война, Группа (September 22, 2018). "Einsatzkommando Cobra ("Кобра"-антитеррор) штурмует шале Войны". @free_voina (in Bulgarian). Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  52. ↑ "Natalya Sokol". www.facebook.com. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  53. ↑ "Das Bundesverwaltungsgericht wird die Festnahme von Natalia Sokol und ihren Kindern in Erwägung ziehen". Freie Voina. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  54. ↑ https://free-voina.org/post/184760257404 Free Voina: Austria has issued an international warrant for Vorotnikov's arrest (Rus)
  55. ↑ https://www.interfax.ru/world/660678 Inter Fax.
  56. ↑ "Traiskirchen", Wikipedia, December 29, 2021, retrieved March 16, 2022
  57. ↑ "Austria accuses controversial Russian political 'artist' of creating militant group and arms trafficking". RT International. May 10, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
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