Police and local media on January 17 said that Ivan Volkov was criminally charged for desecrating the burial place of the dead when he created the 5-meter-long sculpture.

The feces sculpture was in St. Petersburg's Field of Mars, where graves of those who died in the 1917 Russian Revolution are buried.

Volkov, 29, posted pictures of the poop on Facebook and Instagram, commenting that he did not put "any particular meaning into the work." The posts have since been removed.

If convicted, the artist faces a fine or up to five years in jail.

Volkov has created some 30 snow paintings or sculptures in recent years, including one honoring doctors treating coronavirus cases.