{"id":462375,"date":"2026-02-11T15:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/462375\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T15:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:07:10","slug":"russias-psychiatric-homes-are-a-meat-grinder-that-swallows-tens-of-thousands-a-small-band-of-volunteers-is-pulling-art-and-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/462375\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia\u2019s psychiatric homes are a\u00a0\u2018meat grinder\u2019 that swallows tens of\u00a0thousands. A\u00a0small band of\u00a0volunteers is\u00a0pulling art \u2014 and artists \u2014 back out."},"content":{"rendered":"

Tens of\u00a0thousands of\u00a0Russians with psychiatric diagnoses are currently confined in\u00a0state institutions, the majority of\u00a0them declared legally incompetent, denied basic rights, and subjected to\u00a0conditions that charity workers describe as\u00a0a\u00a0\u201cmeat grinder.\u201d Within a\u00a0state system designed for isolation, a\u00a0small number of\u00a0these residents have achieved acclaim as\u00a0artists. A\u00a0recent feature<\/a> by\u00a0the independent media outlet The New Tab chronicles the lives of\u00a0creators like Alexey Sakhnov and Alexander Lobanov, illustrating how dedicated volunteers and NGOs are carving out space for creative freedom within a\u00a0punitive infrastructure that has largely resisted reform. Meduza examines The New Tab\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re currently reading Meduza, the world\u2019s largest independent Russian news outlet. Every day, we\u00a0bring you essential coverage from Russia and beyond. Explore our reporting here<\/a> and follow us<\/a> wherever you get your news.The cardboard architect<\/p>\n

Alexey Sakhnov communicates through a\u00a0unique, personal sign language. At\u00a018, he\u00a0was placed in\u00a0Peterhof Neuro-Psychiatric Home No. 3, entering Russia\u2019s vast, anonymous system of\u00a0state care. But instead of\u00a0vanishing into that void, he\u00a0became a\u00a0celebrated artist whose work is\u00a0exhibited far beyond the walls of\u00a0his institution.<\/p>\n

Sakhnov\u2019s medium is\u00a0cardboard. For years, he\u00a0constructed intricate, multi-story houses from scrap materials. Initially, staff treated these creations as\u00a0trash, but as\u00a0the concept of\u00a0\u201coutsider art\u201d gained traction in\u00a0Russia, curators began to\u00a0preserve his work, seeing not just craft but a\u00a0sophisticated architectural vision.<\/p>\n

His journey from what\u2019s known as\u00a0a\u00a0\u201cclosed\u201d patient to\u00a0a\u00a0traveling artist was grueling. Seven years ago, Sakhnov was barely allowed to\u00a0leave the psychiatric home\u2019s grounds. Today, he\u00a0travels to\u00a0art residencies, the result of\u00a0more than a\u00a0decade of\u00a0painstaking advocacy by\u00a0the charity Perspectives \u2014 work that required \u201cultrasonic delicacy.\u201d Administrators initially viewed Sakhnov\u2019s trips with suspicion, unable to\u00a0comprehend why a\u00a0ward of\u00a0the state should be\u00a0taken to\u00a0a\u00a0seaside resort simply to\u00a0\u201cmake art.\u201d His creative freedom remains a\u00a0rare exception within an\u00a0infrastructure designed for containment rather than expression.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0castle fit for Kafka<\/p>\n

Olga Fominykh, founder of\u00a0the Outsiderville project, describes Russia\u2019s neuro-psychiatric homes as\u00a0\u201cKafkaesque castles\u201d where one department might offer progressive rehabilitation even as\u00a0a\u00a0neighboring wing neglects patients to\u00a0the point of\u00a0death.<\/p>\n

The structural resistance to\u00a0change is\u00a0immense. Last year, federal lawmakers rejected a\u00a0bill on\u00a0\u201cdistributed guardianship\u201d that would have allowed NGOs to\u00a0share legal responsibility for institutionalized residents. Though the legislation failed, the advocacy campaign at\u00a0least opened a\u00a0crack in\u00a0the system, helping to\u00a0normalize the presence of\u00a0volunteers at\u00a0some psychiatric homes.<\/p>\n

But the administrative staff\u2019s monopoly on\u00a0power at\u00a0these facilities remains a\u00a0major safety concern. In\u00a02023, seven residents died of\u00a0\u201cexhaustion-related causes\u201d at\u00a0a\u00a0care home in\u00a0St. Petersburg. The tragedy sparked a\u00a0brief public outcry, but the state\u2019s response was defensive: the Russian Senate passed amendments that eliminated the requirement for independent patient protection services. \u201cYou basically have to\u00a0be\u00a0willing to\u00a0toss your own ethics out the window sometimes just to\u00a0get things done,\u201d Fominykh told The New Tab, describing negotiations with facility administrators. \u201cHonestly, most people couldn\u2019t handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Hunter shoots the forest\u2019<\/p>\n

If\u00a0Sakhnov is\u00a0the contemporary face of\u00a0this struggle for creative freedom, Alexander Lobanov is\u00a0its founding legend. Lobanov, who died in\u00a02003, spent half a\u00a0century in\u00a0a\u00a0psychiatric hospital near Yaroslavl. Deaf and nonverbal, he\u00a0created fantastical self-portraits featuring weaponry and the cryptic slogan: \u201cHunter shoots the forest.\u201d<\/p>\n

His work might have remained unknown had it\u00a0not reached\u00a0Dr. Vladimir Gavrilov, a\u00a0psychiatrist who compiled one of\u00a0Russia\u2019s first major collections of\u00a0outsider\u00a0art. Gavrilov founded the art club Isoterra at\u00a0a\u00a0psychiatric hospital in\u00a0Yaroslavl and curated the long-running exhibition project \u201cINYE\u201d (\u201cOTHERS\u201d), guided by\u00a0the principle \u2014 drawn from the French artist Jean Dubuffet \u2014 that there is\u00a0no\u00a0more an\u00a0\u201cart of\u00a0the mentally ill\u201d than there is\u00a0an\u00a0art of\u00a0people with bad knees. With Gavrilov\u2019s support, Lobanov\u2019s works eventually found their way into European museums. In\u00a01999, four years before his death, Lobanov was finally issued a\u00a0domestic passport \u2014 Russia\u2019s standard identification document. He\u00a0died a\u00a0\u201ccitizen,\u201d but remained a\u00a0patient of\u00a0the asylum until the end.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019ll live to\u00a0see it\u2019<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of\u00a0Ukraine has added another layer of\u00a0complexity to\u00a0efforts to\u00a0support artists inside psychiatric homes. Curiously, interest in\u00a0this \u201coutsider art\u201d has surged, with exhibitions opening in\u00a0major state museums, perhaps because officials view artists with mental disabilities as\u00a0\u201csafe,\u201d assuming they make no\u00a0political statements.<\/p>\n

Fominykh disagrees with this assessment, noting that outsider artists are deeply attuned to\u00a0the world around them. The chaperons who took Sakhnov to\u00a0the Black Sea resort of\u00a0Gelendzhik expected him to\u00a0embrace nature and open space; instead, he\u00a0preferred taxis and restaurant comforts \u2014 \u201cwe\u00a0projected our own values onto him,\u201d one volunteer later admitted. But the wartime atmosphere left its mark: rather than building one of\u00a0his signature houses, Sakhnov constructed a\u00a0cardboard bunker topped with a\u00a0Russian tricolor flag.<\/p>\n

Russian charities that work with \u201coutsider artists\u201d now find themselves caught between competing priorities: on\u00a0the one hand, showcasing talent and raw expression, and on\u00a0the other, protecting vulnerable people from the country\u2019s repressive censorship laws. Outsiderville recently debated whether to\u00a0publish a\u00a0New Year\u2019s card featuring an\u00a0illustration of\u00a0the Kremlin. The group eventually released it\u00a0with a\u00a0single, ambiguous caption: Dozhivem (\u201cWe\u2019ll live to\u00a0see it\u201d).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tens of\u00a0thousands of\u00a0Russians with psychiatric diagnoses are currently confined in\u00a0state institutions, the majority of\u00a0them declared legally incompetent, denied…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[97,259,260,15182,15177,15180,15169,15162,15174,15164,15175,15181,15170,15158,15165,15159,15167,15168,15160,15163,15161,15179,15173,15166,15178,15176,15172,15171],"class_list":["post-462375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-15182","tag-15177","tag-15180","tag-15169","tag-15162","tag-15174","tag-15164","tag-15175","tag-15181","tag-15170","tag-15158","tag-15165","tag-15159","tag-15167","tag-15168","tag-15160","tag-15163","tag-15161","tag-15179","tag-15173","tag-15166","tag-15178","tag-15176","tag-15172","tag-15171"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}