Mihail Chemiakin is a Russian painter and sculptor whose contributions to the nonconformist art movement of St. Petersburg has changed the face of the modern Russian art world. What would start out as an underground movement led by Chemiakin has now been embraced by Russia as one of its legacies to the world. Chemiakin remains an active artist to this day, working on sculptures, public works, and animation.

Chemiakin was exiled from the (then) Soviet Union in the 1970s due to his art. He spent that decade and part of the next in France and New York City. The 1990s saw Chemiakin move back to his native country, working as a set designer for ballets for the Mariinsky Theatre, a television series, and other illustration projects. In 2001, he was commissioned by the city government of Moscow to create the monument Children are the Victims of Adult Vices. It stands just 2000 feet away from the Kremlin.

https://fineart.ha.com/artist-index/mihail-chemiakin.s?id=500042142