MOSCOW, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A pair of Russian performance artists were sentenced to 10 days in jail for splashing holy water on Vladimir Lenin's tomb in an "exorcist" stunt.

Oleg Basov and Yevgeny Avilov, members of the Blue Rider art collective, were recorded Monday splashing holy water on the mausoleum housing the Soviet leader's tomb in Moscow and shouting "rise up and leave."


The performance, which the art group dubbed. "The Exorcist: Desecration of the Mausoleum," resulted in the men being arrested within seconds.

The artists said the piece was an attempt to rid Russia of its Soviet past, which they said is asserting itself in the present.

Basov and Avilov were charged with minor hooliganism and sentenced to 10 days in jail.