Russian police confiscated the 77-year-old artist’s pacifist posters on Thursday, the day after her exhibition opened in St Petersburg, a Russian opposition party said, holding an event at its headquarters, AFP reported.

About 20 posters and paintings created in 2014-2022 by Olena Osipova, who is called the “conscience of St. Petersburg” and a staunch opponent of any war, were presented at the exhibition, which opened on Wednesday evening in the local branch of the Yabloko opposition party.

On Thursday, “the police seized the pacifist paintings of Olena Osipova,” the Yabloko party said in a statement.

Police arrived at the headquarters of the party’s local branch claiming to have received a bomb threat, the same source said.

Although no bomb was found, police “found graphic images painted on canvas and cardboard on the walls, which likely contained false information about the Russian armed forces,” according to a police report cited in the statement.

“The works of art were seized (…) and taken away by the police, not even packed properly,” Yabloko notes.

Among the artist’s posters was “Eyes of Conscience”, which depicted the face of a little girl with big eyes, and at the bottom of the poster was written in Russian and Ukrainian the phrase: “Mother, I’m afraid of war.”

The regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped up repression against his critics following Russia’s February offensive in Ukraine.

The authorities have introduced a law that provides a penalty of up to 15 years in prison for publishing information deemed “false” about the Russian military.

Osipova has been known for many years as a staunch opponent of Vladimir Putin’s policies and any armed conflicts.

She made the peace sign for the first time in 2002, after Chechen militants took hostages in a Moscow theater on Durbrovka.

Since then, few protests in St. Petersburg have taken place without her.

She was stopped by the police several times, and her posters were often confiscated.