Alexey Moskalev, a single father who became the target of a felony case after his daughter got in trouble at school for drawing an anti-war picture in art class, has been arrested, the independent outlet Spektr reported on Wednesday, citing a person who knows the family.
In Putin’s Russia you can get arrested for a drawing your kid creates.
Alexey Moskalev, a single father who became the target of a felony case after his daughter got in trouble at school for drawing an anti-war picture in art class, has been arrested, the independent outlet Spektr reported on Wednesday, citing a person who knows the family.
According to Spektr, police searched the family’s home before arresting Moskalev, and his daughter, Masha, is now home alone. The outlet also reported that police visited the home of a volunteer who has been helping support the family.
Moskalev has previously expressed fears that his arrest could cause his daughter to be sent to live in a shelter.
From @ovdinfo_en
Previously reported at Meduza.
A resident of Russia’s Tula region is facing felony charges of “discrediting” the Russian army because his sixth-grade daughter made an anti-war drawing in a school art class, according to the independent outlets Spektr and OVD-Info.
Until recently, 54-year-old Alexey Moskalev was a bird breeder in the town of Yefremov, where he was raising his daughter, Masha, on his own. Masha’s mother moved to a different city when her daughter was three years old.
In April 2022, during an art lesson, Masha’s teacher asked the class to draw pictures in support of Russia’s troops in Ukraine. Masha proceeded to draw a Russian flag with the words “No to war” on it, as well as a Ukrainian flag that read “Glory to Ukraine.” The drawing also showed missiles flying from the Russian side towards a woman and her child on the Ukrainian side.
“[After that], the teacher ran to the [school] director, who called the police,” Alexey recounted.
Teachers are turning parents over to the Russian Gestapo because the kids are thinking independently of the state-approved propaganda. That sounds like what Ron DeSantis is trying to do in Florida.
BTW, the catch-all criminal charge in Russia for criticizing Putin’s war is “discrediting the Russian Army”. That’s rather absurd because the Russian Army has already discredited itself on multiple occasions both with war crimes and with almost comically inept lack of military skills.
Overall, this incident sharply points out just how paranoid and insecure Putin is. He is pooping in his pants because a 6th grader in an obscure provincial town is creating an anti-war drawing.