Gahhhhh: Watch a Guy Nail His Balls to the Ground in Red Square

Performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky nailed his scrotum to the cobblestone in front of horrified tourists in Red Square on Sunday as a protest of what he says is Russia’s descent into a police state. He was arrested for the stunt. (Video is NSFW.)

Pavlensky timed the performance to coincide with Police Day, a national holiday in Russia. At around lunchtime, he stripped off his clothes in front of Lenin’s Mausoleum, sat down and nailed his testicles into the ground. In a statement explaining his act, Pavlensky said:

The performance can be seen as a metaphor for the apathy, political indifference and fatalism of contemporary Russian society. As the government turns the country into one big prison, stealing from the people and using the money to grow and enrich the police apparatus and other repressive structures, society is allowing this, and forgetting its numerical advantage, is bringing the triumph of the police state closer by its inaction.

Police covered Pavlensky with a blanket before removing him from the pavement. He was taken to a clinic but refused medical treatment, and was later taken to a police station. He could be jailed for up to 15 days.