Pushkin monument, a meeting point for Moscow protests, shut down for ‘restoration’

Russian authorities have hit on a novel solution for preventing anti-corruption protests. Or just maybe, an iconic monument to Alexander Pushkin, Russias most important 19th century poet, really was in dire need of a touchup. Either way, the monument in Pushkin Square, created by the sculptor Alexander Opekushin and unveiled in 1880, was barricaded off on 27 March and shut down until September. That was just one day after it served as the focal point of the largest of dozens of anti-corruption