Artist who painted Putin in lingerie flees Russia to seek asylum

The artist whose paintings depicted Russian resident Vladimir Putin and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev in women’s underwear has fled the country.

The director of St. Petersburg’s Museum of Power, Tatiana Titova, said that Konstantin Altunin left for France and was planning to request asylum there. Authorities removed four of Altunin’s satirical depictions of Russian politicians on Monday and shut down the exhibition.