An exhibit of torture devices in the Siberian city of Tyumen, recently rocked by a string of rapes and beatings at a local school, was indefinitely postponed because of its “bad timing,” local media said on Friday.
The exhibit, dubbed “Mysteries of the Inquisition” and held at a state-owned museum, offered dozens of replicas of torture devices from the 16-17th centuries, including the Spanish boot, the Judas cradle and the witch’s chair, as well as a chastity belt and paintings depicting various tortures.
Though provocative, such shows are a regular occurrence in Russia, and nobody expected the exhibit on the Spanish Inquisition, created by Belarusian Sergei Nurmatov, to trigger a backlash.
However, a check by unidentified experts ruled that “Mysteries of the Inquisition” could have a negative impact on the sanity of children, as well as suicidal and mentally unstable adults, regional prosecutors said.
The show’s ad banner also promoted violence and cruelty, prosecutors said on their website on Friday.
The museum is located next to a school, though the exhibit was only open to visitors over 18 years of age, local news website Vsluh.ru said.
The exhibit was removed from the museum as a result of the check, the prosecutors said.
However, the museum’s administration said the show was only postponed, Vsluh.ru said. The news site cited shocking events at a local school as “bad timing” that prompted the move.
A 12-year girl was raped and beaten by a gang of bullies headed by a senior student, also a girl, Tyumen media reported earlier. The attacks took place in 2010-2011, but the victim was scared into silence while local education officials allegedly tried to hush it up, though the incident eventually came to light earlier this month, prompting a criminal investigation.
