February 20, 2023

Another Political Prisoner


Another Political Prisoner
A penitential center in Moscow. Senate of Russian Federation, Flickr.

On February 15, a court in Barnaul sentenced Maria Ponomarenko, an independent journalist notorious for her anti-corruption investigations, to six years in prison for spreading "fakes" about the Russian army.

Criminal processing was triggered by a post in the Telegram channel Nashi Dny published in mid-March 2022. Apparently, Ponomarenko wrote that the Russian army carried out an airstrike on a drama theater in Mariupol that caused the death of many civilians.

The airstrike happened on March 16 and was recognized by the OSCE and Amnesty International as a war crime by the Russian army. However, according to a story fabricated by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the theater was blown up by Ukrainian soldiers from the Azov Regiment. 

According to Sever Realiy, Maria Ponomarenko was arrested and detained for spreading "fakes" back in April 2022 and spent ten months in custody; she spent time under house arrest, in a pre-trial detention center, and in a psychiatric clinic. While in custody, Ponomarenko attempted suicide because of the harsh conditions of her solitary confinement.

At the last court hearing, the journalist said that she would pass this new test without tears and tantrums, and Putin's regime would collapse before she would be released.

"They will sentence me to prison. Do you think I will cry or fall into hysterics? No. This is just a new stage of my life. And believe me, there are many more decent people behind bars than in The United Russia party. Patriotism is love for the Motherland. And love for the Motherland should not manifest itself in encouraging crimes. Corruption is a crime, an attack on a neighbor is a crime," Ponomarenko said.

This is far from the first case of criminal persecution for statements about the war in Ukraine. OVD.Info has reported that, by December 2022, over 370 Russians had been simiulary prosecuted. 

You Might Also Like

Dangerous Dreams
  • December 23, 2022

Dangerous Dreams

Russians are being fined for their dreams, "likes," and "silent support."
A Lady Leaves
  • November 08, 2022

A Lady Leaves

Famous Russian journalist and politician Ksenia Sobchak has reportedly fled the country to avoid arrest.
A Director Detained
  • October 31, 2022

A Director Detained

Russian playwright Alexei Zhitkovsky has been detained for suspicion of engaging in "extremism."
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955