Slava PTRK: On Art in Exile, "Mudburg," and How to Remain an Artist During War
Slava PTRK (real name Stanislav Komissarov) is a street artist originally from Yekaterinburg. He's not only the creator of iconic murals and performances, but also a curator, lecturer, and one of the few who can calmly and clearly explain what's happening with street art today. An interview with Slava. опубликовал YouTube channel "Signs of Life".
Among PTRK's most famous works are the performance "Fuck, Let's Dance!", the sign "Dirtburg," Black Cloak in the image of Danila Bagrov, "Country of Opportunities" made from crutches, and the street art "Make Russia Grey Again."
In September 2022, Slava left Russia. In March 2025, Russian authorities designated him a "foreign agent"—according to Slava himself, for his anti-war posts, interviews with independent media, and participation in a charity auction in support of Ukraine.
"I would have left anyway, because it was already becoming very dangerous. And because I understood that if I continued as I had before, saying and writing what I wanted to say and write, and doing the work I wanted to do, then sooner or later it could end badly."
Slava now lives in Paris. And despite the broken contracts with Russian galleries, a new creative life is being built—the artist spent an exhibition about Russian protests in Paris, запустил international art project "Dictionary of Modern Russia" created the topical mural "With Confident Step" in Belgrade and held an exhibition there in support of homeless animals.
However, even in the cat theme, depressive colors and moods persist:
"It's impossible for your work—everything you write, speak, draw, photograph—not to reflect your inner state at the moment. You really have to try to make it a contrast, a contradiction," Slava reasons. "I try to step back a little—of course, there's war, repression, people are dying every day. And it's all terrible. But you try to step away from that a little and say, 'Let's try to do something good where we can.'"
In an interview with the YouTube channel "Signs of Life," Slava PTRK рассказал, whether street art can be considered art, whether there are good examples of street works with a patriotic focus, whether it's okay to use hashtags on "memorial" murals, and also about the artist's native Yekaterinburg, building a career abroad, and some of his important works.
