(Peter Hobson for The Moscow Times, part of the New East network, 6/8; via the Guardian.)
A Moscow court has freed Russia’s most notorious performance artist, who was jailed for setting fire to the headquarters of Russia’s security services last year.
The court fined Petr Pavlensky just 500,000 roubles (£5,319) for damaging the cultural site and ordered him to pay a further 481,000 roubles to compensate for the cost of repairs.
As judge Yelena Gudoshnikova finished reading the sentence on Wednesday morning, the courtroom erupted in applause.
Speaking outside the courthouse, the artist thanked his supporters and said: “It does not matter how the trial ended,” he said. “What is important is the fact that we were able to unmask, uncover the truth: the government is founded on the methods of terror.”