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The 1st Western District Military Court has found Alexander Titov, a 65-year-old resident of Slantsy, guilty of “justifying terrorism” (part 2 of article 205.2 of the Criminal Code), reports SOTAvision.
The prosecutor had requested a six-year sentence in a general-regime penal colony.
The prosecution of Titov was triggered by three comments he left on the Telegram channel “Consul pro ideologiyu,” run by Azov Regiment volunteer from Ukraine, Oleksiy Reyns:
“Thank you for the article, it’s written quite powerfully. Here, another article for you, might be useful for your work” (under a post linking to Reyns’ article explaining the meaning of the Nazi symbol Black Sun in the context of “Ukrainian Nazism”);
“Please write comments. We in Russia are waiting and wish you luck” (in response to an announcement of Reyns’ monograph on the idea of nationhood and his explanation of Azov symbols).
“Congratulations from Ingermanland.”
In court it was revealed that Titov was denounced by his colleague Alla Gorskaya. She claimed that the elderly man had offered to help her son, a contract soldier, leave the combat zone. After this, she reported him to the authorities. In court, she also recalled that when Titov saw the letter Z on her car, he was outraged.
Titov’s wife believes this was a set-up. She told OVD-Info that her husband was introduced to Gorskaya by another colleague, and that Gorskaya herself had sought help for her son.
Titov partially admitted guilt. He confirmed posting the comments but denied that they contained any calls for terrorism. As his lawyer Maria Zyryanova pointed out, experts had concluded there were no calls to violent actions in the comments.
The elderly man asked not to be given a real prison sentence so he could continue to provide for his children.
“Alexander could barely hold back tears when speaking about his children. He tried to keep composed, but as his lawyer said in her speech, he sees the situation between Russia and Ukraine as a personal conflict, a personal tragedy, since he was born in the USSR. I know he’s suffering mainly because of me and the children. Of course, he’s also deeply hurt; he’s done so much for people, for society, and these comments, through which he just wanted to understand the situation, to grasp and assess what was happening, have been turned against him,” said Titov’s wife.
She insists that her husband holds pacifist beliefs and had posted an article about the roots of fascism in the same channel’s comments section “to raise awareness and prevent mutual hatred.”
“I can’t comprehend where mercy and humanity have gone, especially considering his age and illnesses. What do I feel? There’s an open wound inside me—where my husband’s been torn away from my soul. Another part of my soul is like a parched patch of earth—without regular contact with him. There’s also the pain for our children. I cry and can’t even eat, the pain is so overwhelming,” said the elderly man’s wife.
- Titov has two children, aged 8 and 12. While under investigation he was placed under restrictions on certain activities, but in November he was sent to a detention centre after missing a court hearing. The elderly man had been diagnosed with bronchial asthma and was unable to get to court due to an asthma attack, after which paramedics diagnosed encephalopathy. Despite the doctors’ reports, Judge Yevgeny Lazarev decided to remand Titov in custody, even though the prosecutor had only requested house arrest. The elderly man’s wife said he was not allowed to take his inhaler with him, had not been permitted to receive medication during the month, and after the asthma attack his hearing noticeably deteriorated (a symptom of encephalopathy).