A woman from St Petersburg has been fined over a video showing her relieving herself near the Kazan Cathedral.

The magistrate of judicial district No. 45 in St Petersburg has fined local resident Alina Borshchuk 30,000 rubles (approximately US$340) for “offending the feelings of believers” (part 2 of article 148 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the joint press service of the city’s courts.

According to the court, in January this year, Borshchuk recorded a video of herself relieving herself near Kazan Cathedral and posted it on Telegram.

The woman’s lawyer petitioned during the hearing for the case against her to be dropped, suggesting a “judicial fine"—a criminal law measure that ends the case without a criminal record and applies only to first-time minor or moderate offences—rather than a full criminal punishment.

The press service notes that in February, Borshchuk “voluntarily worked in the church” and sent a letter to Patriarch Kirill “with apologies, remorse, a request for forgiveness, and an expression of her willingness to atone through obedience in the church.”

She also apologised to the victim, who “did not object to the judicial fine.” The press service did not specify who was recognised as the victim in Borshchuk’s case.

As a result, the court released the St Petersburg resident from criminal liability. As reported by SOTA, straight after her detention, she was forced to apologise on camera, and the footage was distributed in the media.