TERRORDEKADE

Initially, I intended to place the word TERRORDEKADE on the bus line in front of the Russian embassy on 24.02. The action was registered, and authorities informed me that I could prepare materials while waiting for a call from the police to negotiate the closure of the road section. However, on the 22nd, the police contacted me, stating it was not possible. My alternative was to position it on the barrier grids near the S-Bahn station, within the pedestrian zone adjacent to, but not part of, the Russian Embassy—a public space currently occupied by it. On the 23rd, this option was canceled, citing: „The Russian embassy does not want any objects there“ and „We don’t want any problems with the Russian embassy.“ I wonder: why does Russia continue to maintain significant authority and influence in German discourse, and what more needs to occur for this to change? And what is the point of registering political actions if they cannot be held? Caught in the red tape of German bureaucracy, my action was officially registered but failed to materialize as originally planned. What kind of democracy are we talking about here? On the 24th, at 09:00, additional barrier grids appeared, and I was forbidden from placing letters there, too. A moment of despair. And after that - acquaintance with different people who came to support the action or just passed by, who kindly stood with us from 5 minutes to 3 hours, Ukrainians who know the price of terror, and the international public who empathize with Ukraine. This was democracy in action. When a group of strangers, united by both political and pure human desires to mark the decade of Russia’s brutal actions, activated the phrase and made it sound even louder. Without you, it would not have been possible. THANK YOU

140 cm x 1200 cm, white tape on cardboard

Polina Stohnushko, Intervention TERRORDEKADE, 2024, Berlin, Sketches