RUSSIAN ARTIST YAR BULAVIN EXPELLED FROM SERBIA OVER STUDENT PROTEST PHOTOS!

Russian artist Yar Bulavin was expelled from Serbia a few days ago. While the reason was initially unclear, it is now known why Serbian authorities deported this Russian citizen: his photographs and video footage from protests, which you can see within this text.

Students of the University of Niš issued a statement regarding the expulsion of Russian artist Yar Bulavin:

“We strongly condemn the latest in a series of repressive moves by the illegitimate government, the expulsion of Russian artist Yar Bulavin, who found his home, inspiration, and community in Serbia.

While we daily hear declarative messages about ‘Serbia’s European path’ and the values of democracy, we simultaneously witness a disturbing practice of suppressing freedom of expression and expelling foreign nationals for supporting students and citizens in their fight for justice. Is this the image of Serbia we want to send to the world? Is this the ‘European Serbia’? No, this is an autocracy that brutally deals with every form of free thought.

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A post shared by Samoorganizovana neformalna grupa studenata (@ngs_niss)

A Pattern of Expulsions and Suppression

In recent months, many have been expelled from the country, including Italian pianist David Martello, Dr. Arien Stojanović Ivković, and now Yar Bulavin, an artist whose work has enriched our cultural landscape. His exhibitions in the Ethnographic Museum, KC Magacin, Đura Jakšić Museum, and many other spaces showed love and respect for Serbia and its nature, which he immortalized through his camera lens. His photographs celebrated the beauty of our country, but that is obviously not enough for those who see no further than power and their armchairs.

However, in a society where knowledge is belittled and art is treated as a threat, it is clear that there is no place for people like Yar. He was expelled because of one photograph from a protest, which made him ‘undesirable.’ This is not a rule of law. This is political retaliation.

We remind you that the same president who called Novak Đoković’s expulsion from Australia ‘a reflection of powerlessness’ has today, without a shred of shame, expelled a young artist who was elevating Serbia, not destroying it. Is this also ‘a reflection of powerlessness’ or fear of a truth that can no longer be suppressed?

Proterani ruski umetnik Jaroslav (Jar) Bulavin je napravio ovaj snimak. pic.twitter.com/5kxGQSsoJB
— Špiro Seneka (@SenekaSpiro) July 18, 2025

Students’ Message to Bulavin

Artists, intellectuals, and free people are not enemies of the state. If the authorities are afraid of them, then it is a government without legitimacy and without support. This is not the will of the citizens of Serbia. This is the will of a corrupt, frightened, and morally collapsed regime that recognizes danger where there is truth.

Yar – know that Serbia is not those who are expelling you. Serbia is the people who think freely, who respect you, and who welcome you with open hearts. Serbia is a people that remembers. You will return. We will welcome you in a country that will no longer persecute talent but celebrate it.

Ovako sija "sve mir" 💥

Snimak je napravio Jar Bulavin u martu, a zatim dobio zabranu ulaska u Srbiju.
Vratiće se čim bude mogao.
Možda opet pronađe inspiraciju 😉 pic.twitter.com/V6ATbmjSQq
— ETF Blokada (@etfblokada) July 18, 2025

See you in better days. For a free, cultural, and dignified Serbia, students of the University of Niš.”

So, what exactly angered the Serbian authorities so much?

Perhaps some of these photographs and videos that Bulavin took:

A new level in the fight against “external” enemies – punishing an artist who created photographs and clips seen by millions.