Russian authorities have arrested a student over an Instagram story where she criticized the war between Russia and Ukraine. Olesya Krivtsova, a Russian student aged 20, has been kept under house arrest for posting anti-war stories on Instagram and her other social media posts criticizing the war. As stated by Olesya, the drama surrounding her social posts began when she posted about the collapse of the Crimea bridge and how Ukrainians were celebrating the outcomes of this event. According to the Russian authorities, the bridge was destroyed by terrorist activity. Thus, the authorities arrested Olesya for justifying terrorism which destroyed the Crimea bridge as she shared the incident over social media. She is also charged with discrediting the Russian authorities. Based on the criminal charges against Olesya, she could face jail time of up to ten years.
The charges against Olesya are extremely serious which is why she and her family members are having a rough time justifying these charges for just a few social media posts. Olesya said that she never thought that someone could get sentenced to such a long jail time for simply posting something over the internet. Russia has had a bad reputation when it comes to court verdicts on matters such as national security. But Olesya expressed that she did not pay attention to such news and continued expressing her thoughts on the internet. She was studying at the Northern Federal University in Arkhangelsk, but now Olesya has been listed under Russia's official list of terrorists and extremists, a list which included bombers and school shooters. She is now being put under the same category shared by people who have killed innocent people, just for making social media posts.
As she has been kept under house arrest, her life as a student has changed completely. She has been equipped with an ankle monitor through which the authorities can track her every movement. She is not allowed to move out of her room, which is why she is missing most of her classes. The only time she is allowed to move out of her room is while attending court. As part of her house arrest, she has been restricted from accessing her phone and any online activities.
Olesya has had some extreme stands against the Russian government and the Russian President, Putin. She even has a tattoo of President Putin depicted as a spider on her right leg along with the words, “Big Brother is watching you”. This shows her hatred toward President Putin and his government. Her classmates were aware of her hatred towards President Putin and her continuous social media posts. Olesya said that her posts were being discussed amongst her classmates because of her extreme views against President Putin and the ongoing war. Because of this, she also got to know that her classmates were thinking of denouncing her in front of the Russian authorities. One of the major reasons behind such actions by her fellow students was President Putin’s call to separate true patriots from scum and traitors. This is where the thoughts and beliefs of Olesya got the better of her as she is facing such serious charges.
