The 54-year-old father, who was sentenced to two years in prison for “discrediting” the Russian army, is now on the run. Their 13-year-old daughter was placed under guardianship.
Her life changed for a few pencil strokes. A Russian father was separated from his daughter over an argument against the war in Ukraine. Alexei Moskaliov, 54, was sentenced to two years in prison for “discrediting” the Russian army. But he was not in court to hear the verdict on Tuesday, March 28. Placed under house arrest, he fled. Her daughter Maria (nicknamed Masha), 13, was placed in a home. The case has become a symbol of the repression Moscow is imposing on its citizens who criticize, denounce or oppose the offensive launched in Ukraine since late February 2022.
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 child standing next to a Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow. According to the human rights NGO OVD-Info, which published the case, it can also read “No to war” and “Honor to Ukraine”.
A political drawing in the visual arts class
These are not the kind of drawings the fine arts teacher at this school in Efremov, 300 km south of Moscow, was hoping for, according to the report World, support sketches for soldiers involved in the Russian “special operation”. In this small Russian town of 37,000 people, support for the regime is indicated with capital “Z” on city buildings.
In a country that doesn’t tolerate criticism, Maria’s drawing caused a scandal. When the headmaster sees the sketch, he alerts the police, who are investigating the schoolgirl’s father. Authorities are investigating the 54-year-old’s profile and claim to have uncovered online posts criticizing the Russian offensive. Here Alexei Moskaliov is accused of “discrediting” the Russian army.
“He disappeared”
The affair escalated on March 1st. The father of the family is placed under house arrest and his daughter is taken to a home and has no contact with her father. After an investigation and a quick trial, the Efremov prosecutor on Monday March 27 asked for two years in prison. Alexei Moskaliov pleaded not guilty, according to his lawyer Vladimir Bilienko, quoted by AFP.
The next day, the court decides and follows the indictment. But the family man is not there to hear the verdict. “The verdict was read in the defendant’s absence because he had disappeared and did not appear at the hearing,” said the court’s communications manager. 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 publicly condemn the crackdown. “When we talk to people privately, they’re sorry and they don’t understand the harshness shown. But the general attitude is to keep quiet, to hold back, residents are afraid that if they speak up, it will happen to them too,” explains Olga Podolskaïa, an independent district MP interviewed by Le Figaro.
“To serve as an example”
Beyond the region, this father’s story has shocked a section of Russian society. Signs of Outrage, an online petition to demand the child’s return to his father, had garnered 65,000 signatures by early March, according to AFP. The case even reached the head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Evguéni Prigojine, whose men are fighting in Ukraine. The leader of the mercenaries supported Maria and criticized the local authorities for sending the girl to social services.
Maria Moskaliova was placed under guardianship, according to her father’s lawyer, and “could be sent to an orphanage within a month.” The family’s future will be played out during another trial beginning April 6, with Alexei Moskaliov risking being permanently stripped of his parental authority. “These increasingly ruthless verdicts are intended to serve as an example to scare people, to stop them from stepping out of line, deplores MP Olga Podolskaya. The deprivation of freedom of expression has become worse than in certain Soviet times.”
The NGO Memorial sees this as “an attempt to intimidate all opponents of the war”. “We consider Alexei Moskaliov a political prisoner” on the run, supported the organization, which was dissolved by the Russian judiciary last year.