In Russia, a 71-year-old retiree will stand trial for an anti-war post

In Russia, a prosecutor at the Sverdlovsk Regional Court has requested a two-year sentence in a penal colony for Viktor Kazakov, a 71-year-old resident of the closed city of Novouralsk. He is accused of “desecrating symbols of military glory” due to a post he made online.

Criminal proceedings were initiated over a post titled “Day 30 of the War,” which Kazakov published on his blog on March 26, 2022.

The post included a photograph of a memorial to the Hero Cities of World War II, where unknown individuals had added the Ukrainian phrase “It will prevail!” to a plaque bearing the inscription “Kyiv.”

Initially, Russian law enforcement officials tried to accuse the man of directly writing the inscription, but were unable to prove it. After that, the case was closed, and the charges were reclassified to the dissemination of the photograph.

After Kazakov’s post and his participation in protests carrying signs reading “Ukraine, I’m with you!”, a smear campaign was launched against him on local social media.

This was followed by his detention by the police, nine days in custody, eight administrative fines for “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces,” the forced removal of anti-war posts, and pressure through the threat of criminal charges.

Despite this, criminal proceedings were ultimately opened against him in 2025.

In court, Viktor Kazakov did not renounce his views and stated: “They do not support the war against Ukraine. I don’t support it either.”

He also noted that he had published the photo deliberately to show that there was an alternative point of view in his city.

Kazakov is a well-known figure in Novouralsk: a former employee of the Ural Electrochemical Plant, an “honorary nuclear worker,” a member of the city duma in the 1990s, and an environmental and political activist.

In recent years, he has spoken out against the import of nuclear waste into the city and against Russia’s military actions.