Why a child’s anti-war drawing has sent a legal chill across Russia

It started with a drawing.

The instructions to the students at School No. 9 in the Russian town of Ephraim, 300 kilometres south of Moscow, were rather simple: illustrate your support for the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.

But Masha Moskaleva, 13, did not follow the teacher’s orders.

Her drawing depicted Russian missiles headed toward a mother and child standing next to a flag bearing the words, “Glory to Ukraine.”

The explosive fallout has sent a cold chill through the entire country.

Russians who are opposed to their country’s invasion of Ukraine have been contending for the last year with a series of military censorship laws under which they risk stiff fines or jail time for repeat offences.

Many have fled the country. Countless others have gone silent.

But Masha and her father, Alexei Moskalev, who is missing after escaping house arrest just hours before being sentenced to two years in prison for his anti-war social media posts, have suffered a harsher fate than most.

Their brush with the Russian authorities dates to almost a year ago when, in reaction to Masha’s anti-war drawing, school officials berated Moskalev and alerted local police investigators as well as the Federal Security Service, the FSB.

The city’s police chief reportedly accused Moskalev of failing in his fatherly duties toward his daughter while the FSB threatened to make Masha a ward of the state, according to an article last month by the independent Russian-language magazine Spectrum and OVD-Info, a Russian human rights group which has championed the case.

A formal criminal investigation turned up Moskalev’s social media posting in support of Ukraine and lampooning Russian President Vladimir Putin, resulting in charges of discrediting the country’s armed forces and a fine of 32,000 Rubles (about CAD$570).

But the incident so rattled Masha Moskaleva that the girl reportedly begged her father not to be sent back to school.

Months passed, and the crackdown on dissent and protest in Russia continued.

There have been more than 19,000 arrests and detentions for anti-war activities since the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to OVD-Info.

The bulk of those incidents dated to the first month of the war, but there was a spike again last August and September that coincides with a partial draft to boost the ranks of the Russian army.

In another case, an elected Moscow deputy was sentenced to seven years in prison for the crime of spreading “fake news” when he objected to a city council discussion on holding a children’s drawing contest at a time when children are being killed by Russian military activities in Ukraine.

On Dec. 30, as Russians prepared to mark New Year’s Eve, Moskalev’s apartment was raided by a platoon made up of police, firefighters and FSB investigators armed with a saw — to breach the door —and a search warrant.

While officials ransacked the apartment, Moskalev was taken into custody and Masha was taken to a state institution.

Under interrogation, Moskalev was reportedly questioned about the sources of money found in his apartment, the contents of his computer and, according to the Russian legal publication Lawyer Street, two fridge magnets bearing the words “Glory to Ukraine.”

He has claimed to have been beaten in custody, with his head banged against the wall and floor, and then made to listen to the Russian national anthem for two and a half hours at full volume. The questioning ended when he became ill and required medical attention.

He was arrested in early January, reportedly after fleeing his home for a different town about 100 kilometres away. Then again in March, when he was formally charged with repeatedly discrediting the Russian Armed Forces — a more serious charge that comes with a jail term.

Moskalev was held under house arrest while Masha was kept in the state-run orphanage after the local commission on juvenile affairs filed a lawsuit to restrict her father’s parental rights.

The case has scared many and outraged others.

Ivan Zhdanov, an anti-corruption campaigner allied with jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, last week launched a letter-writing campaign, urging people to contact Masha at the orphanage where she is being held to remind her that her father misses her and tens of thousands of people want her to be returned home.

A linked petition urging authorities to release Masha from the facility has received nearly 144,000 signatures.

Moskalev, however, was found guilty on the criminal charges Monday. He was meant to appear in court Tuesday to receive his sentence and be taken into custody by correctional authorities. But at 8 a.m., when officials arrived at his apartment to transport him to court, Moskalev was not there.

Russia’s federal court service told media that the electronic bracelet Moskalev was required to wear indicated that he left his apartment at 4:41 a.m. His whereabouts are currently unknown and a search is underway to find him.

Meanwhile, Masha Moskaleva remains in an orphanage while waiting for an April 6 court hearing that will decide whether she should remain under the state’s care or whether a family member can be found who is willing to care for her.

Allan Woods is a Montreal-based staff reporter for the Star. He covers global and national affairs. Follow him on Twitter: @WoodsAllan

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