Olesya Krivtsova, a first-year student from the northern Russian city of Arkhangelsk, faces more than 10 years in a strict regime colony for publicly speaking out against the war in Ukraine on social media.
Krivtsova, 19, is accused of “justifying terrorism” and repeatedly “discrediting the Russian armed forces” for posts she posted on her personal page on the Russian social network VKontakte and Instagram.
Submissions posted by the teenage student included a list of recommendations addressed to Russian soldiers in Ukraine wishing to surrender, which were originally released by the Ukrainian authorities, as well as photographs of Ukrainian civilians killed by invading Russian forces.
Russian authorities became aware of Krivtsova’s high-profile pacifism from a report that was presented by classmates from Russia’s Northern (Arctic) Federal University who participated in a Telegram group chat with her.
“At the hearing, they mentioned the names of two people I knew who were in that chat. In the chat, these people discussed how best to file a denunciation: to the police or to the special services,” Krivtsova said. said in an interview with independent Russian news site Current time.
Krivtsova was arrested in December after a search of the Arkhangelsk apartment she shares with her husband.
During the search, one of the officers reportedly tried to intimidate Kryvtsova with a sledgehammer, the weapon used to kill a deserter from the notorious Wagner group last month. Kryvtsova and her husband were later told that the police visit was a “welcome to Wagner”. according to to an earlier interview with Present Time with Krivtsova’s mother.
In January, Kryvtsova, who had been under house arrest until 13 February, was added to the list of groups and individuals recognized by the Russian government as terrorists and extremists.
“I know perfectly well that my freedom can really be taken away. They really can send me not just to prison, but to a strict regime colony, ”Kryvtsova said in an interview published on Monday.
And yes, I’m just trying to accept that fact.
