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Yelena Morgunova, wife of Russian performance artist Pavel Krisevich, told Meduza that Russian authorities detained her twice after she returned to visit relatives and threatened her family. She said she has now left Russia and is traveling to France to reunite with her husband; the supplied interview excerpt does not establish the authorities’ account or the full details of the alleged ultimatum.
Yelena Morgunova, wife of Russian performance artist Pavel Krisevich, told Meduza that she was detained twice after returning to Russia to visit relatives, faced threats against her family and was given an ultimatum to leave the country. Krisevich said on October 10 that Morgunova had managed to leave Russia after what he described as back-to-back arrests; in the interview, she said she was traveling through Europe to join him in France.
Morgunova said she was stopped on August 28 in the Ryazan region, after returning to Russia for a short family visit. She recalled that police boarded a bus carrying her and her mother, saying they were checking the passports of people who had returned from countries the Russian government considers “unfriendly.” Officers took the two women to a local police station, where, she said, they asked whether her husband was a “foreign agent.”
The supplied interview excerpt describes the first detention and Morgunova’s departure, but does not give a full account of the second arrest or spell out the alleged threats and ultimatum. Those details are part of the report’s framing and should be understood as Morgunova’s account; the excerpt does not include a response from Russian authorities. She said she had kept a low public profile and had not taken part in Krisevich’s protests, and that she did not expect to be detained.
Krisevich and Morgunova had been living in France since late 2025, after leaving Russia on a humanitarian visa following two jail terms he served for administrative offenses. Morgunova said she initially hoped to keep visiting her parents in Russia and did not apply for asylum. By the time of the interview, she said her previous French humanitarian visa had expired and she planned to apply for family reunification and permission to work.
Pressure on an Artist’s Family
Morgunova’s account describes how pressure connected to an activist’s public work may affect relatives who say they have not joined the protests themselves. Her detention, as she recounts it, also shows the risks she faced when returning to Russia after living abroad, even though she believed her private social media and limited public profile reduced her exposure.
The case has immediate personal consequences: Morgunova said she had to leave Russia and was traveling to reunite with Krisevich, while also trying to find stable housing and work. Her account raises questions about whether family members of people who have left Russia can safely return for visits. The available material does not establish how broadly such risks apply or provide independent corroboration of the threats she described.
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From France Back to Ryazan
Morgunova said the couple arrived in France on June 3 and spent nearly three months in difficult housing while paperwork was processed. They stayed in an occupied former office, where she said the Russian-speaking artists lived in a coatroom without a window. She said authorities eventually offered temporary dormitory housing to Krisevich, but not to her, despite the couple’s request to be housed together.
She returned to Russia after a possible job opportunity arose and said she expected to wait there while pursuing a work visa. She had also wanted to visit her family and described feeling emotionally exhausted and without a stable place to stay in Paris. After entering Russia, she said, she spent two days in Moscow before traveling with her mother and dog toward Skopin in the Ryazan region.
Krisevich is a Russian performance artist who left the country after serving two administrative jail terms, according to the source report. The couple’s experience in France and their differing immigration plans help explain why Morgunova returned, but do not independently verify what happened during her detentions.
Details of the Alleged Ultimatum
The supplied material does not specify when or where the second arrest occurred, how long either detention lasted, or the precise wording and circumstances of the threats against Morgunova’s family. It also does not detail the ultimatum beyond the report’s description that she was pressured to leave Russia. No account from police or other Russian officials is included, and the allegations have not been independently established in the material provided.
Morgunova said she had left Russia by the time of the interview, but the excerpt does not state the date she crossed the border or whether she had reached Paris. Her plans for family reunification and a French work permit were prospective, not completed outcomes.
Reuniting and Seeking French Status
Morgunova said she was traveling by train to Paris because she believed flying could pose a health risk to her short-snouted dog, Céline. She planned to apply for family reunification, seek a residence permit and obtain permission to work. She also said she hoped to support relatives in Russia financially, even if she could not visit them.
The next developments include whether she reaches France and secures legal status, and whether further information emerges about her arrests and the alleged ultimatum. The source material does not give a timetable for her applications or indicate whether Russian authorities have opened or announced any case involving her.
Key Questions
Who is Yelena Morgunova?
Yelena Morgunova is the wife of Russian performance artist Pavel Krisevich. She spoke to Meduza about her return to Russia, her detentions and her plans to rejoin him in France.
Why did Morgunova return to Russia?
She said she wanted to visit relatives and had been emotionally exhausted while living in difficult housing in France. She also said a possible job opportunity led her to wait in Russia while considering a work visa.
When and where was she detained?
Morgunova said police stopped her on August 28 in the Ryazan region, while she and her mother were traveling by bus toward Skopin. The provided excerpt does not detail the timing or location of the second arrest.
What does Morgunova plan to do now?
She said she was traveling to Paris to join Krisevich and planned to apply for family reunification, a French residence permit and permission to work. The excerpt does not confirm that those applications have been submitted or approved.
Source: rss
