August 01, 2023

Retiree Tortured for Anti-War Comments


Retiree Tortured for Anti-War Comments
A Russian court. Pavlovskteam, Wikimedia Commons.

A retiree wrote anti-war comments on his VKontakte after hearing about his daughter's experiences living in Kyiv during the war. Novosibirsk courts have now opened a criminal case against him for "calls for terrorism and mass riots."

The pensioner, identified as Takhir Arslanov, was harassed by authorities and government bodies for his online posts. On January 27, Rosfinmonitoring, a government financial monitoring service, put him on a list of "terrorists and extremists" and blocked his bank account.

Arslanov reported that authorities took his tablet and hard drive, stomped on his vegetable garden, and wrote obscene inscriptions on his house. The FSB conducted two searches at the his home and interrogated him until 5 a.m. "I can't bear these fun and games anymore, because I'm 67," Arslanov said.

Arslanov sent a letter to Novosibirsk City Council Deputy Svetlana Kaverzina, who published it on July 29. Kaverzina wrote on VKontakte: "You are messing with grandfathers for their comments, but not with PMC Wagner, and you think you are tough, right?"

In an interview with SotaVision, Arslanov said, "My child spent the night in a bomb shelter, do you understand?"

His case will be heard by a Novosibirsk court on August 2.

You Might Also Like

What's in a Name? Stalin.
  • July 23, 2023

What's in a Name? Stalin.

Every September 3, and on nine other days of the year, the city of Volgograd will change its name back to Stalingrad.
Scared and Suspicious
  • July 04, 2023

Scared and Suspicious

Nearly half of Russians distrust official information regarding the war in Ukraine.
Undesirable News
  • June 28, 2023

Undesirable News

The Russian Prosecutor General's has declared Novaya Gazeta Europe "undesirable" due to its independent reporting.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

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