Russian media outlet Vot Tak is reporting that pianist Pavel Kushner, 39, has died while awaiting trial in the city of Birobidzhan. Russian authorities arrested Kushner in May on charges of “inciting terrorism” for expressing anti-war views on his YouTube channel.
The cause of Kushner’s death was reportedly starvation. The director of prisoners’ rights organization Russia Behind Bars, Olga Romanova, told media that Kushner had gone on a hunger strike in political protest of his arrest and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Kushner was a graduate of the prestigious Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory and served as soloist with the Birobidzhan Regional Philharmonic, the Kursk Philharmonic, and the Kurgan Philharmonic.
