Russian poet and Putin critic Lev Rubinstein dies after car crash

Russian poet Lev Rubinstein, a prominent figure in the Soviet underground literary movement and a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, has passed away six days after being struck by a car in Moscow, as confirmed by his daughter. The 76-year-old poet, known for co-founding the conceptualist movement in the 1970s and 1980s, utilized various forms of art to challenge traditional Soviet norms and critique socialist realism—the official artistic doctrine during the Soviet era.

Lev Rubinstein’s death elicited reactions from various quarters. The Memorial human rights organization, one of Russia’s oldest civil rights groups (closed in December 2021 due to Moscow’s crackdown on opposition to the Ukraine war), described him as “shakily poetic, astute, and ironic.”

Rubinstein, a close friend of Memorial, had been a staunch critic of Russia’s military actions in Ukraine and the government’s stance on LGBT rights. Despite the challenging circumstances, he chose to remain in Moscow for the past two years, not only for himself but also to provide support for others trying to express themselves and possibly resist through their words.

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