In Painting the Town, Russian Folk Artist Hits a Wall

This was a relevant subject, certainly -- Borovsk was a center for Old Believers. The martyr was imprisoned here, persecuted with his followers for their beliefs. Today, Borovsk is a mix of Old Believers, New Believers and non-believers.

Sergei Zelenov, mayor of Borovsk since 2005, said local religious authorities did not approve the painting of Avvakum and found the angry depiction offensive. "A religious person came to me," he recalled, "and said, 'I washed out this painting,' and I said, 'Thank you.' "

If only, Zelenov laments, the artist had stuck with his original concept. "At first this brought great public relations to Borovsk, and Ovchinnikov put a lot of effort into attracting tourists to the town. Then there were very negative moments and he took advantage of his fame. He started painting historical and religious personalities and plots and got a little involved in politics."

Critics washed out more paintings. Ovchinnikov began painting covertly at night. Zelenov summoned him for a chat. "He said, 'As an artist, I can paint what and where I want,' " the mayor recalled. "I said, 'If you are a painter, you need a canvas,' '' and the city had power to deny him a canvas.

Official airbrushing began in earnest when Ovchinnikov painted Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov in front of the gleaming reconstruction of his city's Christ the Savior Cathedral. On its right, Ovchinnikov painted the regional governor of Kaluga in front of the distressed Old Believers cathedral in Borovsk. Over the Kaluga governor, he wrote, "Can you do the same?"

Ovchinnikov said he was angry that the cathedral was in ruins and this was his call to action.

The regional Kaluga newspaper tut-tutted that even Michelangelo was not allowed such freedom. The painting was completely washed over.

"If you listen to Ovchinnikov," said Zelenov, "I wash out two paintings for every one he paints. He understands that an artist lives as long as people talk about him."

The mayor then ordered Ovchinnikov to submit sketches for approval before he painted any more buildings in Borovsk. Ovchinnikov said the last six sketches he sent the mayor have languished, unapproved.

Many of his paintings have full public support and will probably remain -- but some are fading in color. Ovchinnikov said he's never made any money from his painting and mostly used his own money for supplies, "which are not the best or most expensive ."

In the early, heady days, he was given 1,000 rubles, about $26, for supplies; more recently he was fined 1,000 rubles for defacing a public building. In his typically combative way, he refused to pay and filed a complaint.

Now, he says, he has begun to paint the walls of other towns, including Sevastopol and Obninsk. He has given up his vision of painting all of Borovsk.

Here, "the officials did what they wanted," Ovchinnikov said, "and they achieved their goal -- to put limits on me. Of course the paintings won't last long in Borovsk, they are fading, but at least I could do this. It was a rare thing and the people really welcomed what I did."