May 01, 2023

Sweet Discrediting


Sweet Discrediting
Anti-war cakes bakery_xoxo / Instagram

A court in Moscow fined pastry chef Anastasia Chernysheva for cakes with anti-war slogans. The pastry chef was accused of "discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation" and was ordered to pay an R35,000 ($435) fine.

Chernysheva, whose business was featured in Russian Life's Winter Issue, is a 22-year-old resident of Moscow, has an Instagram account with 29,000 subscribers. There she publishes her anti-war and anti-Putin cakes. In particular, there are photos of a cake with the flag of Ukraine and the phrase in Ukrainian, "Lyubov peremozhe" (love will win), mini-cakes with slogans "Putin will die, but we will stay" and "Russia will be free."

According to the BBC, Anastasia said she started the confectionery business four years ago and began making anti-war and protest cakes in March 2022. "When rallies became impossible, I started baking cakes and writing texts there. This is life in Russia. You could be afraid or you could choose not to be afraid. I made the decision not to be afraid," she told BBC reporters.

Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that the pastry chef was fined after a denunciation provoked by the pro-Kremlin TV channel Tsargrad (owned by the oligarch Konstantin Malofeev). After that, Anastasia also began receiving threats.

Denunciations have become a mass phenomenon since Russia began its War on Ukraine. According to the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media, over six months in 2022, Russians submitted some 145,000 denunciations. Most concerned posting "illegal information" on the internet, including "fakes" about Russia’s war against Ukraine and "pro-Ukrainian propaganda."

Many informers are one-time stool pigeons. But there are some who make a habit of it, like 39-year-old Vitaly Borodin. In 2021 he filed a complaint against the independent media Proekt, and, after Russia invaded Ukraine, he started to write denunciations of Russian celebrities: actress Liya Akhedzhakova, artist Simon Slepakov, singer Valery Meladze, and many others.

You Might Also Like

Too Free for Russia
  • April 03, 2023

Too Free for Russia

The Russian Prosecutor General's office has declared the Free University "undesirable."
Screws are Tightening
  • April 12, 2023

Screws are Tightening

March has seen a serious tightening of the screws of repression by the Russian regime.
Dangerous Dreams
  • December 23, 2022

Dangerous Dreams

Russians are being fined for their dreams, "likes," and "silent support."
The Wrong Kind of Patriotism
  • November 30, 2022

The Wrong Kind of Patriotism

A student in Karelia was reportedly disciplined for wearing a sweatshirt with an American flag on it.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

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.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

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.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

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.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

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.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

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. 

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 

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