Pianist Pavel Kuzhnir has Died in Pretrial Custody, Aged 39

The Russian anti-war activist and classical pianist passed away after a hunger strike in protest of the conflict in Ukraine

Pavel Kushnir has passed away at the age of 39 at a pretrial detention center in Russia’s city of Birobidzhan — the capital of Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Oblast. 

Kushnir was detained in late May 2024 for criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Radio Liberty news reported. A criminal case was opened against him under the alleged suspicion of violence through speeches and videos he had posted to his YouTube channel. He died following a dry hunger strike in protest of the conflict. 

As reported by the Pinnacle Gazette, his death follows the recently reported death of the Ukrainian prisoner of war Alexander Ishchenko, “highlighting the grave dangers faced by those involved in the ongoing conflict.”

Kushnir grew up in Tambov and studied at the music school and the Rachmaninoff Music College. He later graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. 

For seven years he performed as a soloist of the Kursk Regional Philharmonic, then for three years at the Kurgan Philharmonic. In 2023, he became a soloist of the Birobidzhan Regional Philharmonic.

Radio Liberty added that he also published an anti-war book and ran the YouTube channel “Foreign Agent Mulder,” centered on anti-fascist manifestos. From November 2022, he published four videos “poetically criticizing the policies of the Russian authorities and the war in Ukraine.”

“He was always an extraordinary person, very keenly aware of injustice. He could play some pieces on the piano in a way that even great pianists have difficulty performing,” said Olga Shkrygunova, a fellow activist and organizer of the ‘Detained Rus’ project. “When we were about fifteen, we made a bet that he would not bend to the system. And he did not bend. So he won.”

Our condolences to Mr. Kushnir’s family, friends, and colleagues.