Rūta Meilutytė In Red Lake Protest Swimming Through ‘Blood of Ukrainians’ Murdered By Putin’s Russian Troops
Rūta Meilutytė, the Olympic 100m breaststroke champion of 2012, has swum across a lake near the Russian Embassy in Lithuania* that was turned red with dye to represent the blood of the Ukrainian people murdered by the invading troops of Vladimir Putin in the Russian regime’s war on Ukraine.
Meilutytė, the Lithuanian swim ace who produced one of the upsets and highlights of the London 2012 Olympic Games at 15 when based in England working under the guidance of Jon Rudd and coaching staff at Plymouth Leander and College, swam the red lake in protest against Putin’s bloodlust.
Her swim has been turned into a piece of dramatic art, the performance, titled “Swimming Through”, used as a call for action in support of the Ukrainian people as allegations of war crimes mount and evidence of atrocities is documented for submission to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
- Idea and execution: Berta Tilmantaitė, Neringa Rekašiūtė, Rūta Meilutytė, Aurelija Urbonavičiūtė
- Photo & Video: Neringa Rekašiūtė, Berta Tilmantaitė, Mindaugas Drigotas, Andrius Repšys, Karolis Pilypas Liutkevičius
- – * – correction: Initial reports suggested the lake was near the Russian embassy in Tallinn, Estonia. It is in fact near the embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania
Swimming Through – Gallery:
In a statement, those involved in the project noted:
“It’s a call to not remain neutral in the face of the war. A call to take an active part in protecting the lives, the freedom, and the democracy of Ukrainian people who are being tortured, raped, and killed by Russia.
“It’s a call to not remain neutral in the face of the war. A call to take an active part in protecting the lives, the freedom, and the democracy of Ukrainian people who are being tortured, raped, and killed by Russia.
“It is important not to get numb to the horrific images of mass killings of Ukrainians and their pain. The seemingly never-ending horrors imposed by Russia on the Ukrainian land must not become the norm. With countries such as Germany not stepping up and not posing adequate sanctions on the aggressor – choosing money over people, makes it hard to remain hopeful. Therefore it’s crucial that we keep acting – spreading truthful information, volunteering, protesting, donating, and pressuring our governments to take action
“The bloody pond emphasizes Russia’s responsibility for committing war crimes against Ukrainians. Swimming, performed by Lithuanian Olympian Rūta Meilutytė, symbolizes the need for continuous effort to fight through.
Berta Tilmantaitė, Neringa Rekašiūtė, Rūta Meilutytė, Aurelija Urbonavičiūtė – images and video by Neringa Rekašiūtė, Berta Tilmantaitė, Mindaugas Drigotas, Andrius Repšys, Karolis Pilypas Liutkevičius
Dye Used To Turn Rūta Meilutytė Lake Red ‘Harmless’
Julija Samorokovskaja, spokeswoman for Vilnius County Police, told The Baltic Times that the protest had been coordinated with environmental protection authorities. The dye used to turn the lake red was harmless, she noted.
Vilnius Municipality spokesman Paulius Vaitekenas said that the protest was an artistic performance to draw the world’s attention to Russia’s war crimes. He said that the dye was similar to that used to turn the River Vilnia in the Lithuanian capital green on St Patrick’s Day.
Meilutytė’s performance was created by Berta Tilmantaite, founder of the journalistic platform NARA, Neringa Rekasiute and Aurelija Urbonaviciute.
Meilutytė was among swimmers affected by the doping controversies of Russian Yulia Efimova*, who likened her ban from sport to a driving penalty for speeding in which “you lose your licence and then you get it back”.
Those were Efimova’s words on return to racing in time for the Kazan World Championships in 2015 after a lenient 16-month suspension after she tested positive for a banned substance that would normally have carried a two-year penalty.
In the midst of the controversy, Russians suggested that Meilutytė and others complaining about Efimova’s presence were sore losers. Meilutytė never recovered to best form after being rattled by Efimova, who took the World crown from the Lithuanian with a 1:05.66 effort over 100m breaststroke ahead of Meilutytė, on 1:06.36, and Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson, on 1:06.42.
During her suspension period, Efimova appeared as the July 2014 poster girl on FINA’s annual calendar, after she tested positive for a banned substance in October 2013.
Rūta Meilutytė “Swimming Through”
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