An exiled Russian artist whose work criticized President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and other leaders was fatally shot in eastern Poland, local prosecutors said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The local news media identified the victim as Robert Kuzovkov, 44. He was shot five times in the head and torso on Monday outside his house in the city of Biala Podlaska, said Marcin Kozak, a Polish press officer for the prosecutor\u2019s office in Lublin.<\/p>\n
Mr. Kuzovkov \u201cengaged in public artistic activities, using the pseudonym Simon Skrepetski, among others, through which he expressed criticism of the current policies of the Russian authorities,\u201d the prosecutor\u2019s office said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The police said they had detained two men from Belarus near the Belarusian Consulate in Bia\u0142a Podlaska, but officials did not offer further details aside from their ages, 33 and 37. The city is less than 20 miles from the border with Belarus.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear who had shot Mr. Kuzovkov or what the motivation might have been. The artist has posted paintings on social media mocking world leaders, including President Trump, Xi Jinping of China and Mr. Putin.<\/p>\n
Many Russian dissidents have been attacked or killed since Mr. Putin rose to power over two decades ago, including the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, who died in 2024 after apparently being poisoned in a Russian prison<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Kremlin has denied killing detractors, and some accusations have been proven false.<\/p>\n