January 02, 2024

Up to Seven Years for Poetry


Up to Seven Years for Poetry
A penitential center in Moscow.  Senate of Russian Federation, Flickr.

On December 28, Russian poets Artem Kamardin and Yegor Shtovba have been handed prison sentences for their anti-war poems, with Kamardin receiving seven years and Shtovba receiving five years and six months in a penal colony. Another poet involved in the case, Nikolay Dayneko, received a four-year prison sentence earlier.

The Moscow court found the poets guilty of "group incitement of hostility" toward members of the armed formations of the self-proclaimed separatist republics of the LPR and DPR, as well as calls for activities against the security of the state. The charges stemmed from the poets reading anti-war poems in Moscow's city center during the September 2022 Mayakovsliye Chteniya (Mayakovsky poetry readings), a traditional cultural event where poets gather at the monument to Vladimir Mayakovsky to read poems publicly.

During the September 2022 event, the poets responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by organizing "anti-mobilization" public readings. Kamardin referred to Russia-friendly Ukrainian separatists as "terrorists" and expressed his views on the annexation of Ukrainian territories in a poem, saying, "Slava Kievskoy Rusy, Novorossiya Sosi" ("The glory of Kievan Rus is Novorossiya, suck it!").

Following the event, Kamardin was searched, and he reported police officers sexually assaulting him. Kamardin's girlfriend, Alexandra Popova, also reported torture, stating that security forces stuck stickers to her face with superglue, tried to seal her mouth, pulled out her hair, kicked her, and threatened rape. Then Kamardin was sent to a pre-trial detention center, along with Daineko and Shtovba, who repeated the reading lines from Kamardin's poem, according to investigators.

In court, Kamardin requested a suspended sentence, arguing that judging art is unacceptable as artistic statements can be interpreted in various ways. He emphasized that he had no intention of humiliating or insulting anyone and disclosed being diagnosed with "generalized anxiety disorder," asserting that his physical and mental health would not withstand a long prison sentence.

Shtovba, addressing the court, highlighted the lack of evidence connecting him to Kamardin or Daineko before their arrest. He asserted that he was unfamiliar with the other defendants, making it impossible for them to declare poems jointly. This case is one among many in Russia where participants in anti-war public actions receive lengthy prison sentences.

For instance, artist and former Bumaga employee Sasha Skochilenko was convicted of spreading "fakes" about the Russian army by placing price tags in a Perekrestok store with data about those being killed and bombed in Ukraine. According to the human rights project OVD-Info, nearly 800 people in Russia face criminal prosecution for their anti-war stance.

You Might Also Like

A Very Famous Terrorist
  • December 25, 2023

A Very Famous Terrorist

Popular writer Boris Akunin has been added to the Kremlin's list of terrorists and extremists.
An Anti-War Art Awakening
  • December 18, 2023

An Anti-War Art Awakening

Anonymous artist Zless creates anti-war art that juxtaposes traditional Russian symbols and the horrors of the invasion of Ukraine.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

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.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

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.

Frogs Who Begged...
November 01, 2010

Frogs Who Begged...

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

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. 

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