Anti-Putin Jewish musician Kushnir becomes first political prisoner in modern Russia to die in hunger strike

A 39-year-old Russian Jewish classical pianist became the first political prisoner in modern Russia to die in a hunger strike in Siberia last July.

In May, Russian security services arrested the musician Pavel Kushnir, after he was accused of “terrorist activity” for posting videos on YouTube that criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and his policies, especially the war against Ukraine and growing political oppression.

Kushnir died while in detention awaiting trial in the town of Birobidzhan, the administrative center of Russia’s historic Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the Far East, near the Chinese border

His death was reported in early August and later confirmed by the independent publication Mediazona.

Born in 1984, Kushnir was raised in a family of Jewish musicians and eventually became an accomplished concert pianist. He studied at the prominent Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.

In addition to being described as a musical prodigy, Kushnir became politically active.

Irina Levina, Kushnir’s mother, said about her son's death, “I certainly wanted him to conduct himself in a quieter way and to stay out of politics altogether.”

“I am very sorry that he gave up his life, apparently for nothing,” she added.

Kushnir’s longtime friend, Maria Nemtsova, argued that he became a symbol for thousands of political prisoners throughout Russia.

“His death has now become symbolic. It’s about thousands of unknown people being kept in prisons and dying without any protection or interest from the world,” Nemtsova told The Times of Israel.

“People should know about Pavel’s death to make them aware of suffering and injustice in the world.”

In his most recent anti-Putin videos on YouTube, Kushnir expressed strong opposition to both fascism and war.

“Don’t get used to fascism, don’t get used to war. And even if there is no future, let’s believe in the present,” he stated.

“But there is a future. Putin will rot. The fascist Putin regime will collapse. My love will live on. Let’s continue the struggle. Let’s go all the way, stay true to our past,” he stated, in what was likely viewed by the Kremlin as a threat to their power.

However, Kushnir refused to tone down his political opposition to the Putin regime.

Russia was once home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the world. Following the collapse of Soviet Russia, the majority of Jews chose to emigrate to Israel and the West to escape antisemitism, financial distress and political oppression.

In January 2023, the exiled former chief rabbi of Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt urged the remaining Jews in Russia to emigrate due to antisemitism, as well as the ongoing war with Ukraine.

“We’re seeing rising anti-Semitism, while Russia is going back to a new kind of Soviet Union, and step by step, the iron curtain is coming down again. This is why I believe the best option for Russian Jews is to leave,” Goldschmidt said.

Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, tens of thousands of Jews from both Russia and Ukraine have emigrated to the Jewish state.

Russian Jews have continued to immigrate to Israel since then and even after the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and massacre of 1,200 Israelis and despite the escalating regional conflict.