Sentenced to two years in prison for having “discredited” the Russian army, this 54-year-old father is now on the run. Her 13-year-old daughter was placed under guardianship.
Their life changed for a few pencil strokes. A Russian father was separated from his daughter because of a drawing against the war in Ukraine. Alexei Moskaliov, 54, was sentenced to two years in prison for having “discredited” the Russian army. But he was not in court on Tuesday March 28 to hear the verdict. Placed under house arrest, he fled. Her daughter Maria (nicknamed Masha), 13, was placed in a foster home. The case has become the symbol of the repression inflicted by Moscow on its citizens who criticize, denounce or oppose the offensive launched since the end of February 2022 in Ukraine.
Alexei and Maria’s ordeal began in April 2022 when the child made the following drawing. In the background, triangles represent the mountains. Two Russian missiles drawn in black marker threaten a woman and a child, standing next to a Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow. You can also read there “no to war” And “Glory to Ukraine”according to the human rights NGO, OVD-Info, which publicized the case.
A political drawing in plastic arts class
This is not the kind of drawings that the plastic arts teacher of this school in Efremov, 300 km south of Moscow, was hoping for, according to the account of the Worldsketches of support for the soldiers engaged in “the special operation” Russian. In this small Russian town of 37,000 inhabitants, support for the regime is displayed with large “Z”s on municipal buildings.
In a country that does not tolerate criticism, Maria’s drawing caused a scandal. Seeing the sketch, the school principal alerts the police, who are investigating the schoolgirl’s father. Authorities are inspecting the 54-year-old’s profile, claiming to have uncovered online posts critical of the Russian offensive. Here is Alexei Moskaliov prosecuted for having “discredited” the Russian army.
“He disappeared”
On March 1, the affair escalated. The father of the family is placed under house arrest and his daughter placed in a home and deprived of all contact with her father. After an investigation and a flash trial, the prosecutor of Efremov requested two years in prison, Monday, March 27. Alexei Moskaliov pleaded “not guilty”according to his lawyer, Vladimir Bilienko, quoted by AFP.
The next day, the court makes its decision and follows the indictment. But the father of the family is not there to hear the sentence. “The verdict was read in the absence of the defendant, because he disappeared and did not appear at the hearing”, says the head of communication of the court. The lawyer says he last saw his client on Monday. Alexei Moskaliov fled.
Peaceful Efremov has been shaken by this story, but its residents are reluctant to condemn the crackdown openly. “When we speak to people in private, they are sorry and do not understand the harshness displayed. But the general attitude is to keep quiet, to keep a low profile, the inhabitants are afraid that it will happen to them too if they speak out “explains Olga Podolskaya, an independent district deputy, interviewed by Le Figaro.
“There to serve as an example”
Beyond the region, the story of this father shocks part of Russian society. Sign of indignation, an online petition to demand the return of the child to his father had collected 65,000 signatures in early March, according to AFP. The case even came to the ears of the boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Evguéni Prigojine, whose men are fighting in Ukraine. The leader of the mercenaries gave his support to Maria, criticizing the local authorities for sending the girl to social services.
Maria Moskaliova has been placed under guardianship, according to her father’s lawyer, and could be “sent to an orphanage within a month”. The future of the family will be played out during another trial, from April 6, during which Alexei Moskaliov risks being permanently deprived of his parental authority. “These increasingly ruthless sentences are there to serve as an example, to scare people, to dissuade them from stepping out of line, regrets MP Olga Podolskaya. The deprivation of free speech has become worse than in some Soviet times.”
The NGO Memorial sees to it “an attempt to intimidate all opponents of war”. “We consider Alexei Moskaliov as a political prisoner” on the run, supported the organization, dissolved last year by the Russian justice.