This Tuesday he was sentenced to two years in prison in Russia, Alexei Moskalev, for criticizing the offensive against Ukraine and for having custody of his daughter taken away because of an anti-war drawing of the girl. Now the man is on the run.
(Read also: The Russian girl admitted to a juvenile center for drawing against the war)
Moskaliov, 54, was found guilty of having “discredited” the Russian army on social media. “The verdict was read in the absence of the defendant, because he fled and did not appear at the hearing,” said Elena Mikhailovskaya, head of the Yefremov court communication service, some 300 km south of the Russian capital.
The city is shaken by the girl’s drawing. Most people would rather remain silent than be persecuted for having an opinion, even so they are shocked.
Yefremov, population 37,000, some 300 km from the Russian capital, displays murals of patriotic support for the military campaign, as seen across the country. “For a world without Nazism”, reads a billboard on the main street, next to the letters “Z” and “V”, used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
It is the drawing of a Russian girl who opposes the war.
The girl’s father was fined for not educating his daughter well.
The girl was admitted and separated from her home. pic.twitter.com/lHFgvP6Q7U– Leon Garcia Lam (@LamLeonSLP) March 24, 2023
Its inhabitants are divided over the fighting and shocked by the case of Moskalev and his daughter, which became a testament to the crackdown on any criticism of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
the history of drawing
It all started last year when 13-year-old Maria Moskaleva drew a picture at school showing missiles next to a Russian flag targeting a woman and child next to a Ukrainian flag.
The school principal warned the police, who detected comments from the girl’s father, Alexei Moskalev, against the offensive in Ukraine on social networks. In another trial scheduled for April 6, Moskalev risks losing parental authority, his lawyer said.
Since March 1, Moskalev has been under house arrest and his daughter has been placed in an orphanage., with a ban on calling his father, according to local councilor Olga Podolskaya. Her mother is estranged from the family.
The case sparked a national petition for the minor to return home to her father. Even Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner paramilitary group taking part in the Russian offensive, expressed support for Maria and criticized local authorities for her actions.
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“Separating the father from his daughter is horrible. She only expressed a point of view,” said Alexandra, a student. A retiree who declined to give her name said her life had changed since February 24, 2022, the day Russian forces entered Ukraine.
“I’m not accusing anyone. I see victims on both sides. I want this to end as soon as possible,” he said.
Separating the father from his daughter is horrible. She only expressed a point of view
Several recent graves of soldiers who fell in what Russia calls a “special military operation” can be seen in the local cemetery.
In the central square, two older women with red ribbons on their arms said they were part of a neighborhood initiative to report any suspicious activity. “They told us that there is a risk of an attack and we must maintain order,” said one of the women.
Alexander Salikhov, a 66-year-old retired engineer, said he wanted peace but “we must liberate the Russian lands” in Ukraine. Dmitry, a 50-year-old businessman, said he was bankrupted by Western sanctions, which have hit the supply chain.
“What does the future hold for us? Power is in the hands of the security services and we are on the brink of nuclear war,” he warned.
Councilor Podolskaya pointed out that the inhabitants have doubts. “They are depressed, they do not understand what is happening but they cannot go to the streets. They are afraid of being fired and they have mortgages and children,” he said.
Marianna, a 31-year-old pregnant woman, says she is optimistic although she worries that her husband will be mobilized. “We hope it ends and our son is born in a peaceful world and doesn’t have to fear military action,” she said after revealing that the couple want to call him Bogdan, a popular Ukrainian name.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING With information from AFP
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