France, May 9 -- As the international art show takes over Italy's canal city for its 61st edition, Russia is returning to the Biennale for the first time since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukrainian feminist collective Femen and Russian punk protest band Pussy Riot joined forces to demonstrate outside the Russian pavilion at the start of press previews on Wednesday.

"We are here to remind that the only Russian culture, the only Russian art today is blood," Femen activist Inna Shevchenko told reporters. "This pavilion stands on Ukrainian mass graves."

Ksenia Malykh, curator of Ukraine's pavilion, said: "They [the Russians] say art is beyond politics but they're using art as a weapon, in a hybrid war in Europe. So it's absolutel...