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A Russian pianist who was arrested for posting a video on “YouTube” criticizing Russia’s armed invasion of Ukraine died on July 27 of debilitating injuries from a hunger strike. His death has been mourned by the world’s most prominent musicians, including Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Anne-Sophie Mutter, and Simon Rattle.
The deceased was 39-year-old pianist Pavel Kushnir. After graduating from the Moscow Conservatory, he played as a soloist with the Kursk Regional Philharmonic Orchestra for seven years, followed by three years with the Kurgan Regional Philharmonic Orchestra, and last year with the Regional Philharmonic Orchestra of Birobidzhan in southeastern Siberia, near the border with China.
He posted four videos on his “YouTube” channel criticizing Russia’s armed invasion of Ukraine in November 2022 and was arrested by the FSB this past May on charges of calling for terrorist activity through his videos. He has five subscribers to his channel and read an anti-Putin poem in the post. He was incarcerated in a local detention center and awaited trial.
The musicians named in the letter are as follows.
Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Elena Bashkirova, Boris Berman, Andrey Boreyko, Yefim Bronfman, Isabelle Faust, Julia Fischer, Sol Gabetta, Kirill Gerstein, Vladimir Jurowski, Igor Levit, Alexei Lubimov, Mischa Maisky, Alexander Melnikov, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Emmanuel Pahud, Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir András Schiff, Katia Skanavi, Andreas Staier
PHOTO：Sverdlovsk Regional Local History Museum
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