A Russian Artist Killed In Poland Sold One Of His Paintings For $20,000 And Donated The Proceeds To The Ukrainian Armed Forces
- 16.06.2026, 8:10
Semen Skrepetsky has recently been receiving threats.
Blogger Vladislav Bohan, who had known Semen Skrepetsky for several years and had been corresponding with him just before the tragedy, told "Belsat" about the artist’s life, how he made a living from his art, and why he had been receiving regular threats in recent years.
Also a few hours before his death, Semen Skrepetsky discussed new actions against the Russian regime with Vladislav Bohan. According to him, on the night from Saturday to Sunday, Skrepetsky suggested organizing a joint action in Berlin or Warsaw following his recent performance near the Russian embassy in Germany. They did not have time to finalize their plans.
The blogger had known Skrepetsky since 2022. They met at the “ReBelarus” exhibition in Warsaw, which took place shortly before the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine. There, the Russian artist presented his works on acute political themes. According to Bohan, they stayed in touch after that, though they weren’t close friends. They communicated mainly about art, politics, and social activism.
“As a person, he was quite complex. It was sometimes difficult to communicate with him because he was very emotional and blunt in his statements. I didn’t always agree with what he said. But as an artist, he was a true genius,” says Bohan.
In his opinion, no other contemporary artist captured the atmosphere of “deep Russia” outside Moscow so accurately. Skrepetsky was originally from the Altai Krai and often turned to the life of the Russian provinces in his work.
According to Bohan, the artist had been receiving constant threats in recent months. Especially after he began actively mocking the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov. Skrepetsky even posted screenshots of aggressive messages from Kadyrov’s supporters on his Telegram channel.
In addition, in one of his posts, he noted that police officers were stationed near his home. Bohan believes this may have been related to the artist’s report to law enforcement regarding the threats. However, Skrepetsky did not mention any specific dangers in private conversations.
“There was a large community of people surrounding his art”
Skrepetsky not only participated in Russian anti-Putin protests but also supported the Belarusian diaspora in Poland. According to Bohan, the artist attended Belarusian solidarity rallies in the city of Biała Podlaska and also participated in joint protests near the Russian embassy in Warsaw.
Bohan also said that Skrepetsky lived primarily off his art. According to him, the artist earned about $500 a month from monetizing content on YouTube and social media. However, his main source of income came from selling paintings. Some of his works were very expensive.
Skrepetsky had been engaged in political satire for over fifteen years. According to Bohan, he sold one of his works for approximately $20,000 and donated the money to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“He always had buyers; there was a large community of supporters surrounding his art,” the blogger noted.
The news of the artist’s death came as a complete surprise to Bohan. After reading reports of a shooting in the town of Biała Podlaska, he immediately thought of Skrepetsky, who lived there. The blogger subsequently tried to contact him and his wife, but received no response. He then began comparing information and photos from the scene with the content the artist had posted on his social media accounts.
“Everything matched—the age, the nationality, and the location. That’s how I realized that, most likely, it was him,” Bohan said.