The Leninsky District Court in Yekaterinburg fined artist Alisa Gorshenina 45,000 roubles (about US$500) under the article on the ‘discrediting of the army’ (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences) due to an anti-war post from 24 February 2022, her lawyer Aleksei Bushmakov told OVD-Info.
‘The post was published, according to the officers, on Instagram—which is currently blocked—and therefore lacks the element of public access,’ the lawyer stated. ‘It was posted on 24 February, before the law on “discrediting” existed, so it’s incorrect to claim she intended to specifically discredit [the army].’
He also noted that the expert’s conclusions should be declared invalid, since the specialist was not warned about liability for giving false information, and the time of the alleged offence was not specified in the protocol, even though this affects which court should have jurisdiction. ‘The offence was completed in the city of Nizhny Tagil, the protocol was also drawn up in Nizhny Tagil. Why the case ended up in Yekaterinburg is unclear to anyone—including myself,’ Bushmakov stressed, as he requested that the court be transferred, but his motion was denied.
Gorshenina herself and the person who drew up the protocol did not attend the hearing. On 25 April, the artist was arrested for 10 days under the article on ‘display of extremist organisation symbols’ (Part 1, Article 20.3…) for using a rainbow emoji on social media. She was released from the detention centre the previous morning, and was not detained again.
Additionally, further protocols were drawn up against Gorshenina under the articles on ‘discrediting the Russian army’ (20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) and ‘propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations’ (Part 3, Article 6.21 of the Administrative Code).
In 2022, Alisa Gorshenina was fined 35,000 roubles (about US$400) under the article on ‘discrediting the army’ because of an anti-war protest. She stood near the Mir children’s centre in Nizhny Tagil, a large city in the Urals, dressed in black with a white rose in her hands. Ribbons emerged from the flower with the words: ‘Epir vӑrҫa hirӗҫ! ’ and ‘Kirәкmi bezgә sugыsh! ’—which means ‘We are against the war! ’ in Chuvash and Tatar.
In 2024, after complaints from pro-government activists, Gorshenina’s workshop at the Yeltsin Centre was cancelled. In summer 2024, Gorshenina gave a lengthy interview to OVD-Info about the pressure she is facing.
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On 17 May 2024, Alexander Zumorin was detained outside the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow while holding a sign reading: “No to war.” / Photo provided by the detainee’s wife