You Are Crucifying Freedom, but the Human Soul Knows No Chains!

AR Reconstruction of One of the Earliest Political Art Interventions in Public Space in the USSR.

On August 3, 1976, Soviet artists Yuly Rybakov and Oleg Volkov painted an inscription on the Sovereign's Bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg:

“You Crucify Freedom, but the Human Soul Knows No Shackles!”

The inscription measured 42 meters in length, with letters 120 centimeters high. It was painted using white water-based paint and rollers. The entire action took approximately 15 minutes.

The choice of location was deliberate: the Peter and Paul Fortress had served as a political prison throughout much of its history. Placed on its walls, the statement connected a site of imprisonment with the idea of freedom that cannot be physically constrained.

Several months before the action, Rybakov and Volkov had attempted to organize an exhibition of nonconformist Leningrad artists near the Peter and Paul Fortress.

After completing the action, the artists walked to the Palace Bridge, from where the inscription was clearly visible across the Neva River.

In September 1976, both artists were arrested. Rybakov was sentenced to six years in prison and Volkov to seven. The case files include a search report listing 23-year-old KGB lieutenant Vladimir Putin among the officers involved.

AR Reconstruction

The AR reconstruction brings the inscription back into the space of the Peter and Paul Fortress at its original scale — 42 meters.

The original site of the action near the Sovereign's Bastion has been closed to visitors since 2023 due to restoration work on the fortress's granite facades. The digital reconstruction is therefore located on another section of the beach on Hare Island that remains accessible to visitors.

How to View the Work

The reconstruction can be viewed on the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress using a smartphone.

Coming from Gorkovskaya metro station, cross Ioannovsky Bridge and turn left before reaching Ioannovsky Gate, without entering the fortress.

Stand in front of the stone plaque reading “Bastion of Emperor Peter I.”

Slowly move your phone camera, pointing it at the cobblestones beneath your feet and the surrounding area to activate the AR experience.