A court in Saint Petersburg sentenced the creator of the animated series “Masyanya”, Oleg Kuvaev, in absentia to 4 years and 1 month in prison. He was found guilty on charges of calls for activity against the security of the state and violating the rules governing the activities of a “foreign agent”, the press service of the St. Petersburg courts said.
A court in Saint Petersburg sentenced Oleg Kuvaev to 4 years and 1 month in prison in absentia. He was found guilty on charges of calls for activity against the security of the state and violating the rules governing the activities of a “foreign agent”.
The first article’s claims are related to episode 169 of “Masyanya”. According to the court, it contains an appeal to Russian soldiers with a suggestion to surrender and not obey the orders of military commanders, as well as advertising for the Ukrainian state project “I Want to Live”, created for Russian servicemen who wish to voluntarily surrender to Ukrainian captivity.
The press service said that the video had been viewed at least 1,283,890 times and called this confirmation of the public and openly accessible nature of the episode. In the case concerning the “foreign agent”, Kuvaev was accused of failing to submit reports to Russia’s Ministry of Justice; before that, he had been held administratively liable twice.
Kuvaev was added to the “foreign agents” registry in December 2023. Since 2006, he has lived in Israel, where he moved for family reasons, and he has repeatedly spoken out against political persecution in Russia.
After the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Kuvaev released several sharply anti-war episodes in the animated series “Masyanya”. Roskomnadzor blocked the animated series’ website in March 2022.
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