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Dad of Girl Who Made Anti-War Drawing Jailed for 2 Years in Russia

The family came to the authorities’ attention when the girl’s principal called the police over the art class sketch.

The father of a girl who made an anti-war drawing in a school art lesson in Russia has been sentenced to two years in prison, according to a report. Alexei Moskalev was found guilty of discrediting the Russian army—an offense following the invasion of Ukraine—in posts that he denied ever having made on a Russian social media site. Moskalev first came to the attention of authorities after his then 12-year-old daughter, Masha, drew a picture at her school in April 2022 bearing a Ukrainian flag along with the words “Glory to Ukraine” and “No to war.” The school’s principal called the police after seeing the image. Moskalev was initially fined over his alleged anti-war social media posts before a criminal case was opened against him in December, according to OVD-Info. Masha has been kept in a children’s center since March 1 and has been forbidden from communicating with her father. According to a spokesperson from the Yefremov Interdistrict Court, Moskalev was not present for the verdict on Tuesday after he “escaped from house arrest.” His lawyer, Vladimir Bilienko, told Russian media the first he knew of the escape was from the court.