Russian scrotum nailing activist arrested for blaze

Photographed and arrested at the scene of the blaze

Pyotr Pavlensky, Russia’s controversial artist and political activist, is in trouble again. This time he set fire to the door of the country's security service, the FSB, in Moscow.

There is no doubt that he did the deed; he posed, and was pictured, standing in front of the blazing door with a petrol can in hand.

In 2013 Pavlensky got naked and nailed his genitals to the ground to protest "apathy" in the country.

At that time we reported "There are protests and then there are protests. You may have joined a march, shouted your anger, or waved a banner but one man in Russia, Sunday, got naked and nailed his genitals to the ground to protest "apathy" in the country.

Pyotr Pavlensky, 29, a Russian artist could have faced 15 days in jail for the "stunt" but Monday he was freed.

Sunday the man got naked in Red Square, in front of Lenin's mausoleum, before nailing his scrotum to the "cobblestones".

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He was there one and a half hours before being arrested; questioned later on the cause of his protest the BBC reports "Pavlensky said his "Fixation" act was a metaphor for apathy in Russia".

Sunday was chosen as the day of protest as it was Police Day in Russia. "Pavlensky said in a statement: "When the authorities turn the country into one big prison, openly robbing the populace and channelling funds to increase and enrich the police and other security agencies, society accepts arbitrariness and, having forgotten its advantage in numbers, brings the triumph of the police state closer through its inaction.""

Mr Pavlensky could be re-arrested as earlier documents presented to a judge were deemed invalid. Footage of his brutal protest quickly appeared online but was blocked by state authorities. You may still find clips online though."

In 2014 Pavlensky was charged "with vandalising a historic bridge in the centre of St Petersburg, where he burned stacks of tyres to imitate street scenes from the Ukrainian capital when president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February 2014."

Other actions have included wrapping himself in barbed wire and cutting off his earlobe! He also sewed his mouth shut in protest of the incarceration of a Russian punk band.

The Calvert Journal carried an interview with Pavlensky in late 2014 titled "Acts of resistance: Pyotr Pavlensky on performance art as protest."

He will view any legal action or court trial that ensues from his actions as a continuation of the performance.

[He already faces a jail term for a protest in St Petersburg]