Works by winners and finalists of last year's Kandinsky Prize competition will be exhibited at the Louise Blouin Foundation in London starting October 17, trailing with them last year's politically charged ruckus.

To say that Russia's contemporary art is imbued with politics is in understatement. Last year's pompous "Art and Power" theme angled for this natural streak. Soviet imagery (yes... still), whether ironic and nostalgic, was running through several works competing for the largest independent Russia art prize, notably the series by Belavyev, whose selection as the winner of the Project of the Year caused outrage, heckling, and protesting. Here're some highlights from the London exhibition and their respective echoes:

Belavyev's Daughterland, award, and heckler

This is the very artifact of all that controversy. As part of philosopher Alexander Dugin's pro-Kremlin, nationalistic, Eurasian movement — called out for and denied being crypto-fascist — Alexei Belayev-Guintovt differed from contemporary Russian artists' usual anti-Putinism and ambivalence and served up some red, gilded, Stalinist gallery decor. As a dozen activists protested outside, the Eurasian Youth League attempted to wrestle their dollar-sign-and-swastika-clad "Kandinsky is Ashamed!" banner. There were scuffles, cops, fracas over "who're calling fascist?" Inside, as Belavyev received his award, 2007 Kandinsky Prize winner Anatoly Osmolsvky shouted "Disgrace!", the crowd was angry and the artist community jeered for months. And that's the work that did it all. It's very... shiny.

PG Group

The Moscow PG group's graphic collages won a prize for the media project - an art manifestation of the Russian fears of a Chinese invasion, complete with ironic use of offensive stereotypes and socialite rape. "The future belongs to people in masks," the masked PG stated as they received their award. "Your fat-cat lifestyle will soon end and then you'll all be hung up high. We're not joking." Having just cashed out for performances by art world superstars Marina Abramovic and the Gao Brothers, boasted about the consistently record sale value of Kandinsky paintings on the official site, and with audience full of noeveau-riche patrons, the organized may have gulped at this.

Blue Noses

Siberian duo Blue Noses recreated their "The Age of Mercy" piece live as kissing policemen, part of a series. Both PG and the Blue Noses were featured in RUSSIA! before. For other Kandinsky Prize objects of interest currently on display in London, visit the exhibition at ArtInfo.

As this year's third annual Kandinsky Prize competition nears, 44 Russian artists have already been selected for recent achievements to be judged by a jury panel of international curators, critics, art historians and officials. If the trend of politics in art continues, then Russia's never going to run out of inspiration and we don't have to hope for more chaos-inspiried art and art-inspired chaos — only for less shiny, red things.

Images via Kandinsky-Prize.ru, Frieze
More on last year's awards at ArtNet