April 07, 2025

They Draw Swastikas, Set Fires, and Break Crosses


They Draw Swastikas, Set Fires, and Break Crosses
Memorial to PMC Wagner leadership in Moscow.  PLATEL, Wikimedia Commons.

According to Sever.Realii, a project of Radio Liberty, desecrations of graves of soldiers killed in Russia’s War on Ukraine have sharply risen. While only three cases were documented in 2022, the number grew to 21 in 2023 and to 25 in 2024.

Vandalism targeting military monuments and graves began soon after the war started, with the first reported case occurring in Russian-occupied Crimea. Valeria Goldenberg, a 61-year-old pensioner originally from Poltava, poured blood and feces on the grave of mortar operator Valentin Isaychev, who was killed in Ukraine. Goldenberg said she acted out of "a sense of revenge and compassion for the people of Ukraine."

Incidents soon spread beyond Crimea, occurring in Russian regions including Tambov, Zabaikalsky Krai, Khabarovsk, Chelyabinsk, Vladivostok, Kaluga, Volgograd, Kuzbass, Chita, and Kaliningrad.

Sever.Realii reported that teenagers are often the perpetrators. For instance, in Volgograd, authorities detained an underage girl; in Promyshlennaya village in Kuzbass, three schoolchildren aged 10 and 11 were detained; and five teenagers from a local boarding school were arrested in Zabaikalsky Krai.

During these incidents, individuals commonly draw swastikas, damage photographs and flags, break crosses, and set monuments on fire.

Not all acts have political motivations. In Chita, a homeless man was arrested after setting fire to a soldier's grave to keep warm. In Kaluga, two teenagers created videos for TikTok, lying down and dancing near graves while displaying the Russian flag.

Sever.Realii notes that criminal investigations occurred in fewer than half of these cases, but prosecutions under the law on damaging military graves have increased. While no convictions were recorded in 2020, four individuals were convicted in 2021. The number rose to 11 in 2022, 12 in 2023, and four individuals in the first half of 2024.

Penalties under this law include fines, forced or compulsory labor, and imprisonment for up to five years.

You Might Also Like

Hell Behind Bars for a Teenager
  • February 16, 2025

Hell Behind Bars for a Teenager

A 14-year-old Russian girl accused of terrorism spent almost a year in a pretrial detention center, where she was beaten and subjected to sexual violence.
Full Immersion in the War
  • February 13, 2025

Full Immersion in the War

Russian schools now include VR exhibits that immerse kids in Russia's War on Ukraine.
Russians Unaffected by War
  • January 06, 2025

Russians Unaffected by War

Verstka uncovered a survey that showed Russians are both exhausted and accustomed to the war in Ukraine.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
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.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
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.
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. 
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
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.
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.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

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.
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.
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