As the human rights project "OVD-Info"* writes in its study, law enforcement officers have increasingly initiated criminal cases against cultural figures after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, there were 5.8 times more politically motivated criminal prosecutions against cultural figures than in 2021.
In addition to pressure and concert cancellations, cultural figures face direct criminal prosecution, including due to their professional activities. One of the most well-known cases is the prosecution of director Evgenia Berkovich** and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk** under the article on "justification of terrorism" for the play "Finist the Bright Falcon," which received the "Golden Mask" award in 2022. The plot of the documentary production is dedicated to criminal cases against women who connected their lives with radical Islamists and went to Syria.
In an examination conducted by "destructologist" Roman Silantyev, it is stated that the play "heroizes" ISIS militants and also promotes the "ideology of radical feminism." In June 2023, the Ministry of Justice recognized that such an examination cannot be used as evidence in court because it lacks scientific validity, and "destructology is not a science." However, Silantyev's arguments were not excluded from the indictment. In July 2024, the 2nd Western District Military Court in Moscow sentenced Berkovich and Petriychuk to six years in a general regime colony, with the appeal reducing the term by several months.
A total of 41 cultural figures are in custody, most of them already in colonies, with 18 people awaiting sentencing.
Criminal cases in protest against the war in Ukraine are initiated under various articles. For example, writer Viktor Glukhovsky* became a defendant in a criminal case on military "fakes," and singer Monetochka* under the "foreign agent" article. A total of 56 cultural figures became defendants in criminal cases. Along with journalists, politicians, and bloggers, this is one of the most common categories facing criminal prosecution.
Most criminal cases are initiated under the article on "calls for terrorism" — 27, followed by the article on military "fakes" — 26. Seventeen criminal cases are initiated under the articles on "incitement of hatred and enmity" and "violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion." Sixteen people are charged with "organizing the activities of an extremist organization." Another 10 people are accused of "discrediting" the Russian army.
Among the defendants in politically motivated cases, most are musicians — 40 people.
Many of those persecuted turned out to be art activists. For example, in 2022, law enforcement officers initiated a criminal case against St. Petersburg artist Sasha Skochilenko, who posted price tags with anti-war inscriptions in the "Perekrestok" supermarket. Moscow poets Artem Kamardin, Yegor Shtovba, and Nikolai Dayneko became defendants in a criminal case for reading a poem criticizing mobilization at the Mayakovsky monument.
Art activists Lelya Nordik and Paladdya Bashurova became defendants in a false-mining case under the article on "telephone terrorism."
98 persecuted individuals from the art sphere are not widely known, and the only mentions of them in the media are news about their persecution. The story of pianist and anti-war activist Pavel Kushnir became widely known only after his death from a dry hunger strike in a pre-trial detention center in July 2024. The case against the 39-year-old musician was initiated under the article on "calls for terrorism" due to anti-war videos posted on a Youtube channel with five subscribers.
Some of the persecuted, such as artist couple Anastasia Dyudyaeva and Alexander Dotsenko, became defendants in criminal cases due to their artistic works. Others ended up in custody due to accusations of involvement in banned organizations, such as musician Azat Adiev**, who was sentenced to 19 years in prison for involvement with the banned "Hizb ut-Tahrir."
* Recognized in Russia as "foreign agents."
** Included in the list of "terrorists and extremists."