Appeal to the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi from Prof. Nikolai Karpitsky

To the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi

Dear Mr. Prime Minister!

In the year 2011, the Russian authorities tried to ban Bhagavad Gita as extremist literature. India was the only country in the world that supported Vaishnavas in Russia and showed that defence of Dharma is more important than political gains. Now Dharma in Russia is in even greater danger. So we again hope for the support of the government and people of India. The Russian government has created a quasi-religion of hatred to justify new colonial wars - expansion of the “Russian world”. The Russian Orthodox Church leadership was the first to fall under its influence and for this reason supported the persecution of Vaishnavas in 2011 and now supports the war. However, many members of the Russian Orthodox Church disagree, they have openly defended the Bhagavad Gita, and now they refuse to pray for Russia's victory. For this reason they are being persecuted and suffer repression. Now the Russian government is imposing a quasi-religion of hate on all faiths. Many Vaishnavas have been forced to leave Russia, but many remain and out of fear support the quasi-religion of hatred and the war against Ukraine. But they still remain alien to the adherents of the ‘Russian world’, so, sooner or later Vaishnavism may again be banned in Russia. Your authority in the international arena may persuade many to abandon moral relativism and evaluate the war against Ukraine from the position of the universal moral law of all humankind, which in India is called Dharma. You can convince the international community that this is not the age of archaic colonial empires, and therefore, all countries need to unite to issue an ultimatum to Russia. Either Russia will abandon the imperial form of state structure and transform itself into a democratic federation safe for the world, or it will cease to exist as a single state.

A participant in the defence of the Bhagavad Gita trial in 2011 Prof. Nikolai Karpitsky

Registration Number : PMOPG/E/2024/0149253

Nikolai Karpitsky. Followers of Hare Krishna go to fight for Ukraine. War has changed Krishnaites

Source: PostPravda.info 2024-09-23

URL: https://postpravda.info/en/stories/reports/followers-of-hare-krishna-fight/

War is rapidly changing people’s consciousness. These changes are visible as if through a magnifying glass in religious communities that previously distanced themselves from political life and preached pacifism, but now support the Ukrainian Armed Forces. If before the war Russian and Ukrainian believers of Hare Krishna were unaware of their differences, now it is as if they live on different planets. Having lost their common language of communication, they no longer understand each other.

The Hare Krishna movement: pacifists or warriors?

The Hare Krishna movement preaches the principle of non-violence – ahimsa. Its representatives, the Vaishnavas or, as they are called, Krishnaites, are vegetarians and refuse to kill not only humans but also animals. Therefore, the Ukrainian government has recognized their right to alternative civil service. The Hare Krishna movement originated in Bengal in the 16th century, and in the second half of the 20th century it spread throughout the world, including Ukraine. Its largest association in Ukraine is the “Society for Krishna Consciousness,” but there are others related to it.

They all come from the same root and there is no contradiction between them. They differ only in their “religious flavor.” Krishnaites preach love for one God, whom they call Krishna, and practice repetition of the Hare Krishna mantra. Everything a Krishnaite does in his daily life, even when he takes a shower or cooks a meal, he does it for Krishna, to please God. There is simply no room for violence in such a life. Before the war, it was hard to imagine that these peaceful people dancing in Indian costumes on the streets of Ukrainian cities would become warriors.

How many of them are now in the Ukrainian Armed Forces? It’s hard to say exactly, because the Krishnaites don’t have records of members. Ukraine’s spiritual leadership claims to know exactly about 80, while Mykhailo Tashkov, head of the Spiritual Matter Project, a supporter of the Hare Krishna movement and an Officer in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, claims to have identified 136 Krishnaite warriors, and there may be more than two hundred in total. For a relatively small “pacifist” religious community, that’s a lot, as there were about 40,000 of them in Ukraine before the war, and perhaps twice as many now.

Mykhailo Tashkov says that 29 Krishnaite warriors are already known to have died, four more are missing, and one is in captivity. His “Spiritual Matter” project aims to promote a theological justification for the need to defend one’s country with weapons, and from this position he and his fellow warriors are engaged in a fierce polemic with the community’s leadership. So what motivates members of a “pacifist” religion to voluntarily go to war with an aggressor?

Hare Krishna followers who died during the war in Ukraine. Photo: Facebook

A view of war in the Hare Krishna movement

The Hare Krishna movement is one of the strands of Hinduism. According to Hindu ideas, the world is governed by a universal moral law – dharma, which at the same time manifests as an inner duty, and each person has his own, according to his inner nature. For spiritual people, dharma is to know the truth, to devote oneself to the service of God, for warriors – to protect the weak, for peasants and merchants – to ensure material life.

In line with this, there is the concept of warnas in India. They are something like social states. The varna of priests – brahmins, the varna of warriors – kshatriyas, the varna of peasants and merchants – vaisyas. In some strands of Hinduism, the varnas are believed to be defined by birth, but in the Hare Krishna movement the varnas are believed to be an indicator of a person’s personal qualities, which do not depend on the family into which they are born. Because of this understanding, people of different nationalities from all countries can join the movement.

“Hare Krishna” is a brahminical movement oriented exclusively toward spiritual life, with the goal of devotional service to God. Therefore, its followers had little participation in public life, since such participation is the duty of a kshatriya, not a brahmin. The political beliefs of the Krishnaites are generally the same as those they held before joining the movement, and generally reflect public sentiment. Religious leaders tend to take a neutral stance on political issues and try to keep any political disputes out of community life. They viewed wars as an inevitable evil. According to Vedic ideas, we live in the age of wars, viz. in Kali-yuga, and salvation can only be achieved through devotional service to God.

However, when the February 24, 2022 the large-scale Russian invasion began, it became clear to Ukrainian Krishnaites that this was not just one of the Kali-yuga wars on the outskirts of their country, but a genocidal war against all Ukrainians, a war of annihilation. No one is safe in Ukraine now; Krishnaites are dying just like other Ukrainians. The occupiers have destroyed three Krishna temples. In the Kherson region, a drunken Russian soldier shot a Krishnaite family in their home for no reason. At the moment, the deaths of five civilian Krishnaites are known, but how many were killed in total is still unknown.

If in the past total focus on God and detachment from material problems was seen as a sign of spirituality, in the context of genocidal war it is seen quite the opposite – as moral relativism. After all, such complete detachment when people, children are dying all around, shows indifference to suffering and unwillingness to take responsibility for what is happening around us. Does God need such an irresponsible follower?

Thus, a division has emerged among Ukrainian Krishnaites between those who believe it is necessary to lead a religious life as before and those who believe it is necessary to take an active part in defending their country. The fierce polemic between the two is sometimes accompanied by unfair mutual accusations. However, both are opposed to Russia’s aggression, they only argue about whether and in what form this aggression should be fought. Ukrainian Krishnaites do not even enter into discussions with supporters of an openly pro-Russian position, so the split between Ukrainian and Russian Krishnaites cannot be overcome.

Relations between Ukrainian and Russian Krishnaites

Before the war, Ukrainian and Russian Krishnaites felt no differences between them and paid no attention to the fact that a dictatorship had been established in Russia. At least until 2011, when the Russian government made a clumsy attempt to outlaw the Krishna Consciousness Society. To that end, the FSB initiated a trial in the Siberian city of Tomsk to admit the Krishnaite holy book as extremist. At the time, there were still remnants of civil society in Tomsk that supported the Krishnaites, but the support of the public and the Indian government played a decisive role. The holy book managed to be protected.

Ukrainian Krishnaites morally supported their Russian co-religionists, and it came as a shock to them that their spiritual brethren, who themselves almost became victims of repression by the Russian government, supported the occupation of Crimea and the 2014 military invasion of eastern Ukraine. Initially, Ukrainian Krishnaites tried to reach the minds of their Russian co-religionists, but now such attempts have finally ceased. The fact is that the existential experience of war between the two is so different that they simply don’t understand each other, even if they both advocate for Ukraine and against the war.

It is clear to Ukrainian Krishnaites that Russia is waging a war against all Ukrainians for the purpose of destruction, that this is a special war that differs from any other war in that it is being waged not for any political gain, but for the purpose of destroying Ukraine and Ukrainian identity. However, even for those Russian Krishnaites who oppose the war and wholeheartedly sympathize with their Ukrainian co-religionists, this is just one of the Kali-yuga wars, which is being waged not by Russia, but by the Russian government, supposedly separate from Russia. This gap in perceptions of the war prevents communication even among those who oppose the political regime in Russia.

Hare Krishna followers in Ukraine. Photo: Facebook

Most Russian Krishnaites try to maintain neutrality, which easily degenerates into moral relativism and equating the victim with the aggressor. The most common opinions are: “Everyone is to blame for the conflict, Russia, Ukraine and the West”; “Vaishnavites should not get involved in politics”; “Demons fight demons, and Vaishnavites should remain neutral”; “War is a punishment for meat-eating people, everyone is guilty, there are no innocents.”

Along with supporters of this neutral position of moral relativism, there are many among Russian Krishnaites who trust Russian propaganda. They blame the war on either Ukraine, where Russians are allegedly oppressed, or the West, which is allegedly fighting Russia with Ukraine’s hands. There are also those who see it as a global conspiracy of “architects” who secretly rule the world. The ideas of pro-Russian Krishnaites about what is happening in Ukraine are absurd and grotesque. For example, I know a Russian Krishnaite who claimed that Russians are being caught in Kharkiv, and then Russian passports are nailed to various parts of their bodies. At the same time, he categorically refuses to communicate with his Ukrainian co-religionists.

However, with the onset of the large-scale war, Ukrainian Krishnaites faced another problem. The fact is that in the Hare Krishna movement, as in Hinduism in general, the guru, or one’s own spiritual teacher, has absolute authority. God Himself is believed to act through him. However, before the war, Ukraine had no teachers of its own, and the initiation of Ukrainian Krishnaites was carried out by teachers from other countries, including Russia, namely Bhakti Vigyana Goswami (Vadim Tuneev), the spiritual leader of the Krishna Consciousness Society in Russia, and also Chaitanya Chandra Czaran das (Alexander Chakimov).

Vadim Tuneev resigned from the leadership of the Russian Krishna Consciousness Society, emigrated and morally supports Ukraine and Ukrainian co-religionists, but Alexander Chakimov took the opposite stance. Not only did he spread the Russian propaganda narrative that Ukraine had been bombing the Donbas for eight years, but he also urged Russian Krishnaites to obey the mobilization decree, saying that it was Krishna’s duty and will to fight, and if a Vaishnav dies fighting against Ukraine, it will be a glorious death that will purify him of karma. Unfortunately, Alexander Khakimov has a large number of disciples in Ukraine, many of whom absolutely disagree with his position, but cannot abandon the teacher, as it contradicts the creed.

So Ukrainian Krishnaites faced a theological challenge – how to explain that a spiritual person, a teacher through whom God Himself acts, takes a demonic position? The situation improved somewhat when, in the spring of 2024, the spiritual leader of the Krishna Consciousness Society in Ukraine and Moldova, Achyuta Priya (Artem Chumachenko), became a guru (teacher) with the right to give initiations, while at the same time recommendations for initiations from Russian teachers were banned. However, what to do with those who have already taken initiation from Alexander Khakimov is an open question.

Dominant trends among Krishnaites

It is difficult to accurately gauge the prevailing trends in the Krishnaite community, but one can certainly speak to the mood among those Krishnaites with an online presence. Yulia Fil, a researcher at the UAN Institute of Oriental Studies, conducted an online survey in April 2024 to determine how the war has affected relations between Ukrainian and Russian Krishnaites. More than a third of Ukrainian Krishnaites do not want contact with Russian co-religionists at all (36.7%), and slightly less than a third are willing to restore relations only if their Russian co-religionists take responsibility for Russia’s crimes in Ukraine.

In other words, two-thirds of Krishnaites take a radically pro-Ukrainian position and are not ready to make any compromises in the name of communication. Before the war, such principledness on political issues could not have been imagined. The war has changed the Krishnaites a great deal. Only 13.3% responded that it was necessary to restore communication with the Russians, leaving aside political issues. If at the beginning of the war Ukrainian Krishnaites actively engaged in discussions on social networks in an attempt to change the minds of their Russian co-religionists, now only 5% express such an intention. This is in line with the general mood throughout Ukrainian society, where the desire to convince Russians has been marginalized.

The position that, for the sake of communication, one should agree with the position of Russians is somewhere within the statistical error – less than 2%. As the survey of Russian Krishnaites in Tomsk shows, the mood there is different. Slightly more than half (52%) take a position of political neutrality and favor restoring communication with Ukrainian co-religionists, without raising political issues. Slightly more than a quarter (27%) believe that it is necessary to meet with Ukrainian co-religionists, recognizing their right. The rest take a pro-Russian stance: a little more than a tenth (11.5%) believe that one should not communicate with Ukrainian co-religionists at all, and another 10% believe that one should try to convince them that Russia is right.

I think these figures reflect the situation of social consciousness in Tomsk as a whole, which is a university city and a cultural center. In Russia’s depressed cities, the situation is probably much worse; I think Russian propaganda of hatred for Ukraine absolutely dominates there. The genocidal war is changing everyone, and it is already clear that neither the Hari Krishna movement nor other religions in Ukraine will remain the same. Disputes and crises within religious communities reflect similar disputes and crises throughout Ukrainian society, and Ukraine’s future will depend on how it overcomes these internal contradictions.

Nikolai Karpitsky: About the current situation in a few short theses

The reason for the Russian-Ukrainian war is the messianic idea of collecting land. After the rebirth of the imperial consciousness into a necro-imperial one, this idea was transformed into the idea of destroying evil, which is seen in everything that is beyond the control of the Kremlin junta.

The reason for the weak support of Ukraine from Western countries is the rejection of values in favor of conformism under the influence of the illusion that everything can be rationally explained by vested interests, which means that it is possible to come to an agreement with the enemy.

The reason for the suspension of aid to Ukraine from the US is the ochlocratic uprising led by Trump. In the information society, thanks to the Internet, ochlos gained access to information and influence on politics that he did not have before. The US two-party system is like an airplane with two engines, and the first engine – the Republican Party – has already broken. If the ochlos breaks the second motor, disaster will follow.

The reason that Ukraine does not have time to mobilize the country and military production, does not use the potential of diplomacy to unite forces against the aggressor, and makes critical mistakes - post-Soviet inertia, weakness of civil society, incompetent bureaucracy.

The reason that Russia was able to rebuild itself for an endless war of attrition is an aggressive ideology and a totalitarian system that makes it possible to redirect the aggression and inertia of a degrading society into one stream.

The cause of the Third World War is the interaction of totalitarian regimes and laziness in democratic civilized countries against the background of weakness and conformity of Western political elites.

Victoria Arnold. RUSSIA: Pacifist Christian musician fined, banned from internet posting

 17 August 2023.

Victoria Arnold, Forum 18

Musician and teacher Anna Chagina has been handed a fine and a ban on internet posting for opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She stood accused of "discrediting" the Russian armed forces more than once in a year. "I also want to remind you of a simple ethical rule – do to others as you would have them do to you," Chagina said in her final statement. Elsewhere, Mikhail Simonov, the first person to be sentenced to jail for opposing the war from a religious perspective, has lost his appeal against his 7-year jail term.

A court in Siberia has handed musician and teacher Anna Chagina a fine and a ban on posting on the internet as punishment for her opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Chagina stood accused of "discrediting" the Russian armed forces more than once in a year – firstly, by displaying a poster reading “Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)" at an anti-war protest, and secondly, by making anti-war posts on social media, including reposts of texts by religious philosopher Nikolay Karpitsky.

Anna Chagina

Private

On 7 August 2023, Soviet District Court in Tomsk fined Chagina 150,000 Roubles under Criminal Code Article 280.3 Part 1 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, [and] maintain international peace and security") and prohibited her from publishing anything online for 2 years (see below).

Judge Roman Zaynulin imposed the punishment “with the aim of restoring social justice and preventing [Chagina] from committing a new offence." He reduced the fine to 100,000 Roubles to account for time spent under restrictions. 100,000 Roubles is equivalent to almost 6 weeks’ average wages in Tomsk Region as of May 2023. It is unknown whether or not Chagina will choose to appeal. In the meantime, Chagina must abide by travel restrictions and a good behaviour order. According to the verdict, her laptop will be returned when the verdict comes into force, but her mobile phone will remain confiscated as it was “used in the commission of the offence." (see below).

On 14 August, Forum 18 wrote to Soviet District Court and Tomsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office, asking why a Biblical quotation (as in Chagina’s first, administrative prosecution) and reposts of Karpitsky’s observations on the war were considered "discreditation" of the Russian armed forces, and whether the prosecution intended to challenge the court’s verdict. No response has been received (see below).

In court, Chagina did not deny making the internet posts which led to her conviction but pleaded not guilty, stating that she had always held pacifist views: "There is the right, enshrined in law, to express any opinion publicly. ‘No to war’ is [my] position, regardless of which war" (see below).

“I also want to remind you of a simple ethical rule – do to others as you would have them do to you," Chagina told the court in her final statement. "I believe that we will be able to overcome this deepest crisis that has arisen between our peoples, and I urge everyone to find strength in ourselves and stop hating. Don't believe what they say. We have no greater enemies than ourselves" (see below).

"When military action finally comes to an end and those who survive return – and sooner or later, that will happen – the [Russian Orthodox Church] will have to answer for its ideological support of the war," Chagina told Forum 18 through friends on 11 August, before the verdict came into legal force. "I think a global crisis of faith awaits us inside the ROC [Russian Orthodox Church]" (see below).

Mikhail Simonov, the first person to be sentenced to imprisonment for opposing the war in Ukraine from a religious perspective, appealed unsuccessfully against his conviction on 25 July 2023 at Moscow City Court (see below).

On 30 March, Forum 18 asked the Federal Investigative Committee and its Moscow branch, as well as Moscow City Prosecutor's Office, in what way Simonov's comments could be construed as motivated by hatred of a political or social group, and why it was necessary to have a 63-year-old man with health problems placed in detention. Forum 18 has received no reply to any of these questions (see below).

On 30 March, Simonov had received a 7-year prison term under Criminal Code Article 207.3 ("Public dissemination, under the guise of credible statements, of knowingly false information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation") for making online comments condemning the war, including one which said "We, Russia, have become godless. Forgive us, Lord!" He is currently in transit within the prison system and it remains unknown where he will serve his sentence (see below).

Ongoing and new cases

Guard brings Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov into Kalinin District Court, St Petersburg, 6 February 2023

Rferl.org (RFE/RL)

Father Ioann Kurmoyarov (of a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia not in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate), the only person currently on trial for opposing the war in Ukraine on religious grounds, has been in custody in St Petersburg’s Kresty-2 prison since June 2022. The judge in his case rejected his latest petition to be placed under lesser restrictions on 28 June 2023.

In August 2022, Darya Lebedeva, head of the joint court system press service for St Petersburg, insisted to Forum 18 that Fr Ioann had to be held in detention because: "if at liberty and not isolated from society, Kurmoyarov may continue his criminal activity, conceal himself from investigators and the court, destroy evidence and otherwise interfere with the criminal proceedings".

Fr Ioann is on trial under Criminal Code Article 207.3 ("Public dissemination, under the guise of credible statements, of knowingly false information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation") for posting anti-war videos on YouTube, and is next due to appear in court on 22 August 2023.

Yury Sipko, June 2019

Svoboda.org (RFE/RL)

In early August, the Investigative Committee in Moscow opened a criminal case against Baptist pastor Yury Sipko, the former head of the Russian Baptist Union. He is under investigation under Criminal Code Article 207.3 ("Public dissemination, under the guise of credible statements, of knowingly false information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation"), Part 2 Paragraph D ("based on political, ideological, racial, national, or religious hatred or enmity, or based on hatred or enmity against any social group"). Investigators raided Sipko’s home in Moscow, but could not arrest him as he had already left the country – they have now had him placed on the Interior Ministry’s wanted list (see forthcoming F18News article).

Federal Security Service (FSB) investigators in Kaluga also searched the home of Pentecostal bishop Albert Ratkin on 8 August, and took him in for questioning. He was later released and is so far being treated as a witness in Sipko’s case (see forthcoming F18News article).

Administrative Code cases for opposition to the war on grounds of faith or with the use of religious imagery and quotations continue to be brought. Cases in 2023 have included Eduard Charov, who was fined in April for "discrediting" the Armed Forces and "inciting hatred" towards state authorities after he criticised Russia's invasion of Ukraine on social media, asking "Would Jesus Christ have gone to kill in Ukraine?".

Conscientious objectors to military service have been jailed, such as Pentecostal Andrey Kapatsyna who refused to fight in Ukraine, telling commanders that "in accordance with his religious beliefs, he could not take up arms and use them against other people." On 29 June 2023, a Vladivostok court sentenced him to 2 years, 10 months' imprisonment under new legislation punishing non-fulfilment of orders in a period of combat operations. There is no legal or practical provision for alternative civilian service (ACS) during mobilisation, despite the Constitution guaranteeing this right for every citizen.

“Discreditation" and “False information"

Specific penalties for criticising Russia's actions in its renewed war against Ukraine came into force on 4 March 2022. These include Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation"), which is used against apparently any form of anti-war statement either in public spaces or online, and Criminal Code Article 207.3 ("Public dissemination, under the guise of credible statements, of knowingly false information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation").

If individuals commit an offence covered by Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 more than once within a year, they may be prosecuted under Criminal Code Article 280.3 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, [and] maintain international peace and security").

On 28 March 2023, a series of amendments to the Criminal Code came into legal force, increasing penalties for disseminating "false information" about and repeatedly "discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces (Criminal Code Articles 207.3 and 280.3). The amendments also widen the definition of these offences (and of Administrative Code Article 20.3.3) to include criticism of "volunteer formations, organisations and individuals who assist in the fulfilment of tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" (that is, private mercenary units).

Under Criminal Code Article 280.3 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, [and] maintain international peace and security"), Part 1, the maximum prison sentence was raised from 3 years to 5 years. Under Part 2, the same offence if resulting in "death by negligence", harm to health or property, or mass public disorder, the penalty was raised from 5 years to 7 years.

Under Criminal Code Article 207.3 ("Public dissemination, under the guise of credible statements, of knowingly false information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation"), Part 1, the maximum prison sentence was raised from 3 years to 5 years (Part 2 remains unchanged).

Russian Orthodox (ROCOR) priest Nikandr Pinchuk was the first person to receive a criminal conviction for opposing Russia's war in Ukraine on religious grounds. On 17 October 2022, a court in the Urals fined him two months' average local wage under Criminal Code Article 280.3, for a social media post condemning the "horde of the Antichrist" attacking Ukraine. Neither Verkhoturye District Court nor Prosecutor's Office replied to Forum 18's questions on why expressing religious views on the war in Ukraine should be considered "discreditation" of the Armed Forces and incur such a large fine.

Tomsk: Fine and ban on internet posts for “discrediting" the army

Soviet District Court, Tomsk, August 2021

Google

On 7 August 2023, Anna Sergeyevna Chagina (born 29 November 1979) made her tenth and final appearance at Soviet District Court in Tomsk on a charge of repeatedly “discrediting" the Russian armed forces.

Judge Roman Zaynulin found her guilty and imposed a fine of 150,000 Roubles and a 2-year ban on making online publications. He reduced the fine to 100,000 Roubles to take into account the one day Chagina was detained after her arrest, and the time she spent under restrictions during the investigation and awaiting trial. 100,000 Roubles is equivalent to almost 6 weeks’ average wages in Tomsk Region as of May 2023.

In her final statement to the court, Chagina – a viola player and music teacher – said that she believed that war, “no matter what it is called – a special military operation, or something else – causes irreparable harm [and] damage to our countries and human destinies," the Vtomske.ru local news website reported on 7 August. “I believe that no one can win a war. Only love, which always remains, can win. Even now, when our soldiers are shooting at each other, when people are dying, it still remains."

“We have the opportunity to finish this as soon as possible. This is our responsibility. I want to remind those who consider themselves Christians that Kiev is the mother of Russian cities," Chagina added.

“I also want to remind you of a simple ethical rule – do to others as you would have them do to you. I believe that we will be able to overcome this deepest crisis that has arisen between our peoples, and I urge everyone to find strength in ourselves and stop hating. Don't believe what they say. We have no greater enemies than ourselves."

Prosecutors had sought a fine of 200,000 Roubles and a 3-year ban on posting material online. The maximum punishment Chagina could have received under Criminal Code Article 280.3 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, [and] maintain international peace and security"), Part 1, was 3 years’ imprisonment. This was because her alleged offence took place before the March 2023 increase in possible sentences.

The verdict has not yet entered legal force. Chagina has not yet decided whether to appeal, she told Forum 18 through friends on 11 August - she has 15 days to do so from the date the verdict was issued. Akt-Produkt, an independent St Petersburg-based record label with which Chagina has collaborated, noted on VKontakte on 13 August that supporters had already managed to raise enough money to pay the fine.

In the meantime, Chagina must abide by travel restrictions and a good behaviour order. According to the verdict, her laptop will be returned when the verdict comes into force, but her mobile phone will remain confiscated as it was “used in the commission of the offence."

First conviction

Criminal Code Article 280.3 punishes those who “discredit" the Russian armed forces more than once within a year. Chagina's first conviction for this was for displaying a poster reading “Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)" at an anti-war protest in Tomsk in March 2022, just two days after the new offence of “discreditation" came into force.

“Many times after [the arrest for the poster], I inwardly turned to these words of Christ and realised that peacemaking begins with what is in a person's heart," Chagina told Forum 18 through friends on 11 March 2023.

On 14 March 2022 she was fined 45,000 Roubles under Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation"), Part 1, also at Soviet District Court in Tomsk.

Second accusation of “discreditation"

The second accusation of “discreditation," which led to Chagina’s criminal prosecution, derived from a number of posts she made on her profile page on the VKontakte social network, which a witness allegedly came across by chance and reported to an acquaintance in the FSB. In summer 2022, Chagina had begun to notice that she was being followed. After her arrest in autumn 2022, the investigator remarked that all the local police already knew her, media outlet Govorit Ne Moskva (which specialises in regional stories) noted in December 2022.

Maksim Khalturin shows ankle monitoring bracelet, February 2019

CurrentTime TV

After her second arrest on 30 November 2022, the court placed her under specific restrictions, including a night-time curfew, a ban on using the internet and postal service, and the use of an electronic tag. Chagina continued to have to wear the tag for more than seven months, until prison service officials removed it at the start of July to use on another person, as they had run out of devices.

Those internet posts cited in the August 2023 court verdict, seen by Forum 18, comprise a post on 12 May 2022 saying that she had signed human rights defender Lev Ponomaryov's change.org petition against Russia's renewed invasion of Ukraine, and another on 7 June 2022 saying “NO TO WAR" (with a link to a news report on the State Duma’s proposed creation of more war-related criminal offences), as well as three reposts of texts from the Facebook page of Nikolay Karpitsky.

Karpitsky is a religious philosopher from Tomsk who now lives in Slovyansk in Ukraine. He has documented the experience of wartime life almost every day since the invasion and produced a series of videos on YouTube entitled “War from the point of view of religion."

Karpitsky’s texts which feature in the court’s written verdict are those (of 3 May, 28 May, and 11 June 2022) which accuse Russian forces of targeting Ukrainian homes and civilian infrastructure. These include: “After all, they will not spare anyone. First, they will demolish everything they can with artillery. Then, on the cleared territory, the intelligence services will look for ‘Nazis’, that is, to torture and kill all those who are suspicious. And then the city will be given to the gopniks [thugs, delinquents] for plunder, who will kill just for the sake of entertainment. Thus they have already acted in Bucha and other cities."

The Investigative Committee and experts for the prosecution determined that these posts characterised Russian troops’ actions as “predatory, dangerous, [and] violent."

A number of other materials from Chagina’s VKontakte page contributed to the Investigative Committee’s 30 November 2022 decision to charge her (seen by Forum 18), though do not appear in the final indictment or verdict.

These included a 17 May 2022 repost from the “Libertarnaya Teologiya" VKontakte page, with information about and links to download a book entitled “The long road of Russian pacifism: the ideal of international and internal peace in the religious-philosophical and socio-political thought of Russia" (ed. T. Shchapov, Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences, 1997). This included the quotation: “Saints who acquired inner peace, according to hagiographic literature, almost always became peacemakers in both the private and political life of ancient Rus' .. With their lives, they testified that only by renouncing selfish aspirations, life ‘according to the elements of this world’, affirming oneself in love for God and neighbour, can a person defeat evil – not to slay it with a sword, but to absorb it into oneself and dissolve it by the effort of faith and love."

In court, Chagina did not deny making the posts but pleaded not guilty, stating that she had always held pacifist views: “There is the right, enshrined in law, to express any opinion publicly. ‘No to war’ is [my] position, regardless of which war."

August 2023 verdict

Judge Zaynulin found no mitigating or exacerbating circumstances in the case, and “taking into account the effect of the chosen punishment on the correction of the guilty person" and “with the aim of restoring social justice and preventing [Chagina] from committing a new offence," decided to impose a fine and 2 years’ “deprivation of the right to carry out activities related to administration of sites on electronic and information-telecommunication networks, including the internet, and the posting of information on them for public access."

Forum 18 wrote to Soviet District Court and Tomsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office on 14 August, asking why a Biblical quotation (as in Chagina’s first, administrative prosecution) and reposts of Karpitsky’s observations on the war were considered “discreditation" of the Russian armed forces, and whether the prosecution intended to challenge the court’s verdict. No response has been received.

“A global crisis of faith awaits us inside the Russian Orthodox Church"

“As far as my religious life is concerned, everything has remained the same: I go to church, nobody has tried to limit my freedom of belief in any way," Chagina told Forum 18 through friends on 11 August, before the verdict came into legal force.

“When military action finally comes to an end and those who survive return – and sooner or later, that will happen – the [Russian Orthodox Church] will have to answer for its ideological support of the war. If Russia openly recognises its defeat, the Church will be emotionally responsible for this before society.

“There are already few people now in the churches, on weekdays there’s almost nobody at all. And after the war, I think a global crisis of faith awaits us inside the ROC [Russian Orthodox Church]. There are priests who are generally afraid to speak, and this fear is not just of the state, but also of the people. It is as if an abyss has grown between pastor and flock."

Moscow: 7-year prison sentence upheld

Mikhail Simonov being led into Moscow’s Timiryazevsky District Court, 30 March 2023

Antonina Favorskaya/SOTAvision

Mikhail Yuryevich Simonov (born 27 January 1960), the first person to receive a prison sentence for his religiously motivated opposition to the war in Ukraine, appealed unsuccessfully against his conviction on 25 July 2023 at Moscow City Court.

The Investigative Committee’s case against Simonov was based on two comments he made on the VKontakte social network in March 2022: "Killing children and women, on Channel One [television] we sing songs. We, Russia, have become godless [bezbozhniki]. Forgive us, Lord!"; and "Russian pilots are bombing children."

On 30 March 2023, the capital’s Timiryazevsky District Court found Simonov guilty under Criminal Code Article 207.3 ("Public dissemination, under the guise of credible statements, of knowingly false information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation"), Part 2 Part D ("based on political, ideological, racial, national, or religious hatred or enmity, or based on hatred or enmity against any social group"). He was sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment.

On 30 March, Forum 18 asked the Federal Investigative Committee and its Moscow branch, as well as Moscow City Prosecutor's Office, in what way Simonov's comments could be construed as motivated by hatred of a political or social group, and why it was necessary to have a 63-year-old man with health problems placed in detention. Forum 18 also asked Moscow City Prosecutor's Office why prosecutors had requested such a long prison sentence of 7 years. Forum 18 has received no reply to any of these questions.

Simonov is still in transit within the prison system, a person following the case told Forum 18, and as of early August, he was being held at Investigation Prison No. 2 in Tsivilsk in the Chuvash Republic. It is as yet unknown where he will serve his sentence.

Simonov remained in detention throughout the investigation and trial and between his conviction and appeal, and is therefore deemed to have already served 13 and a half months of his prison term. He is thus likely to be due for release in June 2029 – after which he will be subject to a 4-year ban on some online activities.

At Simonov’s appeal hearing, his lawyer Aleksandr Aldayev argued that Criminal Code Article 207.3 contravenes international law, RusNews reported on its Telegram channel on 25 July. Simonov himself stated that he “did not fully understand the essence of the charge against him," and that pleaded guilty only to the offence of “Public dissemination of knowingly false information under the guise of authentic information" (ie. Article 207.3 Part 1), denying that he had been motivated by “political hatred." The appeal judge refused, however, to reclassify the charge against him. (END)

N. Karpitsky. May 12, 2023. Ukraine. Four hundred and forty-third day of the war

The shelling of Kramatorsk was heard again tonight, and yesterday our town was under fire. A S-300 missile hit a private house, a woman was wounded, her elderly mother was killed. This is our daily life, so constantly. Victory Day over fascism was also celebrated in the midst of sirens. For us it is a day of remembrance of the victims, for the necro-imperialists - a day of festivity. Of course, Russian necrophilism differs from Hitler’s Nazism, but both are varieties of fascism from a scientific point of view. Who would have thought that after 78 years fascists will celebrate victory over fascism by firing 25 rockets on cities of Ukraine!

In winter, they shot at transformers to freeze us out. We had to stay without electricity, but it was calmer. Now again, residential areas have become the main target of shelling. Air raids are often heard, however, missile strikes are still unexpected when there is a lull. Therefore I do not react to either sirens or explosions, and there is still nowhere to hide. When rockets hit Kramatorsk, the sound is distant and dull, when they hit us, it's vibrant. If in our district, the sound is very harsh and the windows rattle. But it doesn't happen every day, not to compare with how it was last summer.

When the explosion is very close, it's a shame to admit, but the first thought is a selfish one: "Good thing it wasn't me!" Then, you're waiting for the rest of the missiles to pass by, and soon everything will go silent. As soon as the shelling subsides, you realize that someone may now have been killed or crippled. Public outcry is caused by terrible shots from Uman, Dnipro, Kherson, where dozens of people die in their apartments, in shops, at bus stops, photographs of the happy faces of mothers with children who are no longer there. But aside from that, people die in their apartments from shelling every day, you simply cannot remember everyone. Start getting used to the daily routine of death, and that’s the worst part. 

During the shelling, I involuntarily calculate the probabilities. Let's say there are six explosions. Our city is stretched for ten kilometers, and the probability that one of the missiles will hit exactly my house is a fraction of a percent. If you are outside, the probability of getting hurt increases several times, but it's still not much. A kind of "devilish Russian roulette". If in "Russian roulette" the probability of a blank shot is significant, in "devilish roulette" missiles kill someone anyway. The decrease in the probability of death is achieved not by a blank shot, but by increasing the number of people exposed to mortal danger, so it's a win-win for the devil or whoever leads the shelling.

There is a huge difference between episodic and constant shelling. In Bakhmut, the probability of survival is small, but, unlike Mariupol, the orcs could not surround it. Mariupol residents had to fight for survival, breaking out of the city through checkpoints where they were beaten, along roads that were shelled. It is still unknown how many died there. Obviously, many and many tens of thousands of people, but how many exactly - it's even scary to think about. Compared to Mariupol, we are very lucky. We are not bombed by aviation, and after a missile hits a residential building, rescuers dig out the victims. There was no one in Mariupol to do this.

One of my ordinary days. I gave a lecture to my students, and want to limber up. The day is sunny, warm and quiet. I rode my bike to the supermarket. As soon as I open the door, a loud explosion is heard somewhere nearby. By the sound - a powerful rocket, a kilometer and a half or two from us. There is no siren - they still do not have time to turn it on in case of such single attacks. And you can't hide from them in a bomb shelter. I don't even know where the bomb shelter is. The only thing left to do is to ignore the danger. So did the people around me, walking between the shelves, paying at the checkout. Several more explosions. I return home, a view of Karachun opens in front of me, and to the left of it, two columns of smoke rise above the city. 

Such shelling has become a daily routine, they no longer disrupt the usual rhythm of city life. They correspond to the first level of danger to which any resident of Ukraine is exposed in any city, because there are no safe places now. Anyone at any time can die from a missile attack at home. Such missiles are very powerful and are capable of bringing down an entire section of a high-rise building. However, few missiles are fired in a single attack, and even those are dispersed throughout Ukraine, so many ignore this level of danger.

The second level of danger is when the city begins to be systematically shelled with Hurricane or Smerch MLRS, as they shelled Slavyansk last summer. Rockets are weaker, a single strike can destroy several apartments, but the attacks are much more intense and can last for an hour or two. Here the probability of getting killed increases manifold, and there is no way to walk around the city. However, the orcs do not have enough MLRS to destroy the entire city, so more than 80% of the destruction is done with cannon artillery. When the orcs attacked the city from Izyum and Liman last summer, they only had to deploy howitzers in our direction to destroy Slaviansk. In desperate fighting, the Ukrainian military did not allow this to happen.

Being in the target area of the cannon artillery corresponds to the third level of danger. There is already a very high chance of dying in your flat, but it is possible to take refuge in a shelter that cannot be hit by artillery shells. However, artillery can keep hitting for weeks and months, so sooner or later everything can be destroyed to the ground. The fourth level of danger is when there are urban battles. The Russian army does not know how to storm cities without destroying them to the ground. In these conditions, you can survive only if you have really good luck. The highest level is the total destruction of a besieged city by air, when bomb shelters were turned into mass graves, as was the case in Mariupol.

In recent months, I have been very upset that we had to retreat in the face of dumb orc infantry attacks due to a lack of the most primitive anti-personnel weapons. Now I’m watching the enemy artillery beat out, and the optimism is growing again. Something is happening at the front, I don't understand what exactly, and that's a very good thing. For if I understood, it would mean that our offensive plans were revealed. Since they are not disclosed, it makes no sense to read analysts' forecasts.

Victoria Arnold. The criminal trial of Tomsk musician Anna Chagina // Forum 18, 20 March 2023

20 March 2023. Victoria Arnold, Forum 18

URL: https://nikukraina.blogspot.com/2023/03/victoria-arnold-tomsk-musicians.html

The criminal trial of Tomsk musician Anna Chagina on charges of again "discrediting" the Armed Forces resumes on 11 April. She was fined in 2022 for a poster reading "Blessed are the peacemakers". "Many times after [the arrest for the poster], I inwardly turned to these words of Christ and realised that peacemaking begins with what is in a person's heart," Chagina says. In St Petersburg, Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov's trial resumes on 10 April. He says he has been denied medical attention in prison, including from a cardiologist.

The criminal trial has begun in Tomsk of a musician and teacher who allegedly "discredited" the Russian Armed Forces more than once in a year. Anna Chagina appeared in court for the first time on 15 March – her next hearing is due to take place on 11 April. If convicted, she could spend up to three years in prison or have to pay a fine of up to 300,000 Roubles. The court extended the restrictions imposed on her - including a night-time curfew and a ban on using the internet - until 2 September. She has been fitted with an ankle bracelet to monitor her movements.

Chagina's first (administrative) conviction was for displaying a poster reading "Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)" at an anti-war protest in Tomsk in March 2022, just two days after the new offence of "discreditation" came into force.

"Many times after [the arrest for the poster], I inwardly turned to these words of Christ and realised that peacemaking begins with what is in a person's heart," Chagina told Forum 18. "Happiness is when you become one who can reconcile those who are warring. One who has come to terms with oneself, with people, with Life. When you carry light and joy in yourself, which spread to other people".

Investigators subsequently accused Chagina of posting anti-war materials on social media and charged her under Criminal Code Article 280.3, Part 1 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, [and] maintain international peace and security", when these take place more than once in twelve months).

Although it remains unclear exactly which posts form the basis of the prosecution, they appear to include texts and videos by religious philosopher Nikolay Karpitsky, who has described wartime life in Ukraine and discussed the Russian invasion from a Christian perspective.

Punishments increased for "fakes" and "discreditation"

On 18 March, President Vladimir Putin signed into law a series of amendments increasing penalties for disseminating "false information" about and repeatedly "discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces (Criminal Code Articles 207.3 and 280.3). The amendments also widen the definition of these offences (and of Administrative Code Article 20.3.3) to include criticism of "volunteer formations, organisations and individuals who assist in the fulfilment of tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" (that is, private military outfits such as Wagner).

Under Criminal Code Article 280.3, Part 1, the maximum prison sentence will be raised from 3 years to 5 years – under Part 2 (the same offence if resulting in "death by negligence", harm to health or property, or mass public disorder), from 5 years to 7 years.

Under Criminal Code Article 207.3, Part 1, the maximum prison sentence will be raised from 3 years to 5 years (Part 2 remains unchanged).

The amendments are due to come into force ten days after their official publication on 18 March.

Tomsk: Anna Chagina's trial to resume 11 April

On 15 March, Anna Sergeyevna Chagina (born 29 November 1979) made her first appearance at Soviet District Court in the Siberian city of Tomsk on charges of repeatedly "discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces. Judge Roman Zaynulin refused the defence request to lift the restrictions under which she has been living for the last three and half months. He adjourned the trial until 11 April.

Tomsk Region Investigative Committee opened a case in November 2022 against Chagina – a violinist, viola player, and music teacher – under Criminal Code Article 280.3 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, [and] maintain international peace and security", when these take place more than once in twelve months). They accused her of posting anti-war materials on her page on the VKontakte social network.

Chagina noted to Forum 18 through friends on 11 March that the criminal case is based on her own texts and comments on VKontakte, as well as commentary from the Telegram channel of the Orthodox philosopher Nikolay Karpitsky: "I don't agree with all the wording in Nikolay's texts, but I published some of his thoughts on my VK page without cuts."

Originally from Tomsk, where he led the Tomsk Regional Anti-Fascist Committee, Karpitsky has lived in Slovyansk in Ukraine since 2014. Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, he has written regularly about wartime life in Slovyansk and has discussed the war from a Christian perspective in videos on his YouTube Channel, some of which Chagina also reposted.

(In 2011, Karpitsky acted as an expert witness for the defence when prosecutors in Tomsk attempted to have "The Bhagavad-Gita As It Is" - a translation of and commentary on the ancient Sanskrit text by Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness – banned as extremist. Courts in Tomsk refused to uphold the prosecutors' suit.)

Forum 18 wrote to Tomsk Region Investigative Committee to ask why expressing religion-based opposition to the war in Ukraine should be considered "discreditation" of the Russian Armed Forces, and on which specific social media posts the case against Chagina was based. "Taking into account the interests of the investigation, it is not possible to answer your request," it responded on 27 February.

A Tomsk court had already handed Chagina a fine of 45,000-Roubles (about three weeks' average local wages) under Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 for displaying a poster reading "Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)" at an anti-war protest in Tomsk in March 2022.

"Many times after [the arrest for the poster], I inwardly turned to these words of Christ and realised that peacemaking begins with what is in a person's heart," Chagina told Forum 18. "Happiness is when you become one who can reconcile those who are warring. One who has come to terms with oneself, with people, with Life. When you carry light and joy in yourself, which spread to other people."

In comments to Forum 18, Chagina expressed her sadness at the attitude of some religious organisations to the war.

"From the moment the war began, I actively began to learn what other Christians think about the war, what is happening in different faiths. An unpleasant surprise was that hatred, division, pain and fear, like invisible enemies, come from everywhere. The thought that there are priests who bless people to kill is very hard, unbearably suffocating.

"It is terrible to see that a significant part of the Russian Orthodox Church is captured by idolatry towards the state and the ethnic group, although this did not begin on 24 February [2022], but, alas, has been going on for centuries. But it's even harder for me to understand that among Russian-speaking Protestants there are also those for whom earthly authorities turned out to be more important than the Gospel."

Despite her own opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "I did not remove from my [VKontakte] friends those who support the war", Chagina told Forum 18. "People can be mistaken, and they can repent of their mistakes. Now we can't communicate. But I believe that the veil will fall from many eyes, and I want to be open, waiting for this time to come."

Chagina also noted: "War divides us, draws a fiery line between us. War gives a global reason for despair, despondency and hatred, and instead of repentance, it offers to bury oneself forever in guilt. But war cannot destroy the ability to pray and think. I am very interested in what lies ahead for us: another tragedy of alienation or hope for a radical turn towards a renewed and profound communion among Christians, towards the unity of the Church?"

"For me, the Church is a single universal organism, the totality of all who hope for salvation in Christ. As the Apostle wrote, 'there will no longer be Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, man nor woman, but all will be one in Christ', all will be one in Love. I rejoice that through the darkness of our mistakes and falls, God, as before, walks with us, comes to us. It is difficult to take the first step towards Love, but this is our responsibility."

Tomsk: Chagina's court-imposed restrictions extended to 2 September

Anna Chagina has been under a court-ordered night-time curfew and bans on sending and receiving correspondence, using the internet, and attending large-scale public events since 1 December 2022, shortly after investigators searched her home. The Federal Penitentiary Service fitted her with an ankle bracelet that monitors her movements.

(Several Jehovah's Witnesses - including Maksim Khalturin in early 2019 - have had ankle bracelets fitted to monitor their movements while they were under criminal investigation.)

At the 15 March 2023 hearing, Judge Zaynulin extended the restrictions on Chagina until 2 September.

"The prosecutor expressed ritual fears that 'the accused may commit a more serious crime of a similar nature', on the basis of which the restrictive measures should be left unchanged", Akt-Produkt, an independent St Petersburg-based record label with which Chagina has collaborated, commented on VKontakte on 16 March. "What kind of 'crime of a similar nature' could be committed [during the curfew] is not clear, and the investigation, which could somehow theoretically be interfered with, has been completed."

Akt-Produkt noted that the judge ignored this argument and the fact that, after Chagina had moved house, the Federal Penitentiary Service in her new district had given her "a faulty device which regularly records phantom 'violations' [of the curfew]".

Victoria Arnold. Tomsk musician's criminal trial to begin 15 March // Forum 18, 7 March 2023

7 March 2023. Victoria Arnold, Forum 18

URL: https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2814

RUSSIA: Tomsk musician's criminal trial to begin 15 March

The criminal trial of Tomsk Christian and musician Anna Chagina on charges of repeatedly "discrediting" the Armed Forces is due to begin on 15 March. She is being tried for social media posts opposing Russia's war in Ukraine, having already received a fine in 2022 for her poster at an anti-war protest which read "Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)". Tomsk Region Investigative Committee refused to discuss the case. The criminal trial of St Petersburg Orthodox priest Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov is due to resume on 10 April.

On 15 March, Judge Roman Zaynulin of Soviet District Court in the Siberian city of Tomsk is due to begin the criminal trial of Anna Chagina, according to the court website. If convicted, the 43-year-old Christian, a musician and teacher, faces a maximum three-year jail term or a large fine on charges of "discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces more than once in one year.

Chagina's first (administrative) conviction was for displaying a poster reading "Blessed are the peacemakers" at an anti-war protest in Tomsk in March 2022, just two days after the new offence of "discreditation" came into force (see below).

Investigators subsequently accused Chagina of posting anti-war materials on social media and charged her under Criminal Code Article 280.3 (see below).

Chagina's online posts included reposting an anti-war petition by Russian Orthodox clergy, online debates on the war from a Christian perspective and updates on the criminal prosecution of Orthodox priest Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov in St Petersburg. It remains unclear exactly which of her social media posts form the basis of the prosecution case (see below).

The Investigative Committee detained Chagina for one day after searching her flat in Tomsk at the end of November 2022. Since then, she has been under specific restrictions, including a ban on using the internet, and latterly a non-disclosure agreement preventing her from discussing the investigation. Witnesses in the case have also had to sign such agreements (see below).

"It was important for me to convey my position to people," Chagina told the Govorit Ne Moskva media project (which specialises in regional stories) through friends in December 2022, before she or they signed the non-disclosure agreements. "I am mentally prepared for the fact that the state will punish me for this. As far as I understand, I face either a prison term or a huge fine. I'm not afraid of either" (see below).

Forum 18 wrote to Tomsk Region Investigative Committee to ask why expressing religion-based opinions on events in Ukraine should be considered "discreditation" of the Russian Armed Forces, and on which specific social media posts the case against Chagina was based. "Taking into account the interests of the investigation, it is not possible to answer your request," it responded. It added that all information about preliminary investigations that it is legally permissible to make public is published on the Investigative Committee's website. The website has given no information on Chagina's case (see below).

The Investigative Committee has not explained why Chagina and witnesses in the case were required to sign non-disclosure agreements (see below).

Meanwhile, the trial continues at St Petersburg's Kalinin District Court of Orthodox priest Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov on charges of disseminating "knowingly false information on the use of the Armed Forces". On 6 March, he was brought to court for his latest hearing from St Petersburg's Kresty-2 prison (where he has been held since his arrest in June 2022). The judge adjourned the hearing until 10 April because Kurmoyarov's lawyer Luiza Magomedova was unwell (see below).

* * *

Tomsk: Fine for "Blessed are the peacemakers" poster

Christian Anna Sergeyevna Chagina (born 29 November 1979), a viola player and music teacher from the Siberian city of Tomsk, opposed Russia's renewed invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022.

Her first offence of "discreditation" took place on 6 March 2022 on Novo-Sobornaya Square in central Tomsk, where about 100 people had gathered to protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Chagina held a poster she had made: "Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)".

Police detained twenty of the protestors, including Chagina, and charged them under the new Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation"), which had entered legal force two days before.

A judge at Tomsk's Soviet District Court convicted her under Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 on 12 March 2022 and fined her 45,000 Roubles, about three weeks' average local wages.

"I consider myself innocent of any charges, and no matter how tomorrow's hearing ends, I remain calm," Chagina commented on her VKontakte page on 11 March 2022. "To call for peace, to call for it with all my heart, to call on everyone's open heart, to call for reason, to sow what is good and eternal is my human and professional duty."

"I sincerely believe that what is happening with our planet is in our hands. War starts the moment we forget our responsibility. When we think that 'it will manage itself somehow', 'it will work out', 'it will pass, 'you can wait it out', 'it does not concern me', 'nothing depends on me'."

(Chagina also attended protests against the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, in support of jailed opposition leader Aleksey Navalny in 2021, and against the "partial mobilisation" in September 2022. Before a concert in March 2022, she spoke out against the war on stage and played a Ukrainian song.)

According to Tomsk's Soviet District Court's written decision of 12 March 2022, seen by Forum 18, Chagina "took part in an illegal public event in the form of a rally, the purpose of which .. was to form a negative opinion among bystanders and the population of Tomsk regarding the special military operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation".

"Aware that those gathered were united by a single plan to undermine confidence in the decisions of the state authorities of the Russian Federation to conduct a special military operation to save Donbas," the court decision added, Chagina "shouted slogans on the subject of the event, held a poster of a similar content, and, not responding to the explanations of police officers about the illegal purpose of the event or their demand to disperse, thereby committed an administrative offence".

In court, Chagina did not deny holding a poster, but argued that she had been carrying out an individual picket (which is legally permitted without official authorisation). She said in her written statement that she had made the "Blessed are the peacemakers" poster herself and had displayed it in order to "express her civic position".

Chagina appealed unsuccessfully at Tomsk Regional Court on 8 April 2022.

* * *

Tomsk: Criminal case

During 2022, Anna Chagina continued to post material on her page on the VKontakte social media site opposing Russia's war in Ukraine.

On 8 March 2022, Chagina reposted the full text of the anti-war open letter of 1 March 2022, ultimately signed by nearly 300 Russian Orthodox clergy. On 12 May 2022, she wrote that she had herself signed human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov's change.org petition against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Pavel Levushkan is a Lutheran pastor and commentator from Latvia, who is based in Riga but has previously served in Tomsk. Nikolay Karpitsky is a religious philosopher from Tomsk who now lives in Slovyansk in Ukraine. On her VKontakte page, Chagina linked to a YouTube video of the two men discussing the theme of hatred ("How to process your hatred, find cool resolve [obresti kholodnuyu reshimnost] and remain yourself") as part of the series "War from the point of view of religion" on Karpitsky's channel. Chagina also reposted other videos from this series.

Chagina's posts also include supportive comments about other Russians prosecuted for "discrediting" or "disseminating false information" about the Russian Armed Forces, Karpitsky's descriptions of wartime life in Ukraine, comments on the war from the Vatican, and media articles about Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov (currently on trial in St Petersburg for opposing the war – see below).

State media regulator Roskomnadzor blocked Chagina's VKontakte page on 3 September 2022 at the request of the General Prosecutor's Office.

Chagina "considers herself a Christian, is interested in religious philosophy, and insists that Russian Orthodoxy has nothing to do with the Russian Orthodox Church and its support for the war with Ukraine", the media outlet Govorit Ne Moskva (which specialises in regional stories) summarised her position.

In summer 2022, Chagina had begun to notice that she was being followed. After her arrest in autumn 2022, the investigator remarked that all the local police already knew her, Govorit Ne Moskva noted in December 2022.

On 23 November 2022 (according to court documents seen by Forum 18), Tomsk Region Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Chagina.

According to Govorit Ne Moskva, the Investigative Committee's grounds for initiating the case appeared to be some of Chagina's comments on her VKontakte page, as well as her reposting of texts by Pavel Levushkan and Nikolai Karpitsky. It remains unclear exactly which social media posts form the basis of the prosecution case.

The Investigative Committee searched Chagina's home early on 30 November 2022. The investigators "behaved calmly – they did not turn the flat upside down", according to Govorit Ne Moskva, which communicated with Chagina through friends before their non-disclosure agreements. The officers "carefully examined books, sheet music, and musical literature" and confiscated electronic devices.

Investigators detained Chagina for one day after the early-morning search of her home. She has since been at home under a night-time curfew and restrictions on communication.

At her interrogation, Chagina refused to answer questions and stated that she did not plan to plead guilty. The Investigative Committee charged her the same day under Criminal Code Article 280.3, Part 1.

On 1 December 2022, Tomsk's Soviet District Court upheld the investigators' request to have Chagina placed under specific restrictions. According to the court document, seen by Forum 18, these comprise a 10pm-6am curfew and bans on sending and receiving correspondence ("including letters, telegrams, parcels, and electronic messages"), using the internet, and attending large-scale public events. She was freed from detention in the courtroom.

Forum 18 wrote to the Tomsk Region Investigative Committee to ask why expressing religion-based opinions on events in Ukraine should be considered "discreditation" of the Russian Armed Forces, and on which specific social media posts the case was based. The press office first directed Forum 18 to the federal-level Investigative Committee in Moscow, but later stated on 27 February that "Taking into account the interests of the investigation, it is not possible to answer your request". It added that all information about preliminary investigations that it is legally permissible to make public is published on the Investigative Committee's website.

Chagina's case is as yet not mentioned on either the Tomsk Region or the federal Investigative Committee's news pages.

The Investigative Committee has not explained why Chagina and witnesses in the case were required to sign non-disclosure agreements.

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Tomsk: Criminal trial due to begin on 15 March

Anna Chagina is due to appear in court on 15 March on charges of repeatedly "discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces. She is the fifth person to face criminal prosecution for opposing the war on the basis of her religious beliefs, and the second to be charged under Criminal Code Article 280.3, Part 1 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, [and] maintain international peace and security").

Soviet District Court in Tomsk registered Chagina's case on 2 March 2023, according to its website, assigning it to Judge Roman Zaynulin. The court has scheduled the first hearing in her trial for 15 March. Investigators have had Chagina and witnesses in the case sign agreements not to disclose any information about the investigation.

"It was important for me to convey my position to people," Chagina told the Govorit Ne Moskva media project through friends in December 2022, before she or they signed the non-disclosure agreements. "I am mentally prepared for the fact that the state will punish me for this. As far as I understand, I face either a prison term or a huge fine. I'm not afraid of either."

If convicted, Chagina could be imprisoned for up to three years or fined up to 300,000 Roubles. Even if she receives a fine, she may not remain undisturbed thereafter, because "she is unlikely to give up on expressing her [anti-war] convictions openly", her acquaintance Maksim Yevstropov (founder of activist art project Party of the Dead) told Govorit Ne Moskva from outside Russia, adding that new charges could be brought for "the slightest reason".