The arrest of a Russian student for an Instagram story
That's because Olesya, 20, is under house arrest. Her leg is equipped with an electronic tag. Police can track her every move.
Her alleged offense? Olesya was arrested for posting anti-war messages on social media. One of them was the October explosion on the bridge connecting Russia to annexed Crimea.
"I posted an Instagram story about the bridge," Olesya says, "reflecting on how happy Ukrainians were with what had happened."
She had also shared a post about the war from a friend.
The drama then began.
""I was on the phone with my mother when I heard the front door open," Olesya recalls. A large number of police officers arrived. They took my phone and ordered me to lie down on the floor."
Olesya was accused of justifying terrorism and undermining the Russian military. She could face up to ten years in prison.
"I had no idea anyone could get such a long prison sentence for something they posted on the internet," Olesya says. "I'd heard about crazy verdicts in Russia, but I hadn't paid much attention and kept speaking out."
Olesya, a student at Russia's Northern Federal University in Arkhangelsk, has now been added to the country's official list of terrorists and extremists.
"I thought it was crazy when I realized I'd been put on the same list as school shooters and the Islamic State group," recalls Olesya.
Her house arrest rules forbid her from talking on the phone or going online.
Olesya has a striking tattoo of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a spider, with the Orwellian inscription: "Big Brother is watching you."
In Olesya's case, it appears that her classmates were watching her rather than Big Brother.
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