Alexey and Maria Moskalev, a father and daughter who fled Russia…
Alexey and Maria Moskalev, a father and daughter who fled Russia after Alexey was sentenced for 'discrediting the Russian army' following his daughter's anti-war drawing at school, received political asylum in France in July 2026 after being denied a German humanitarian visa. They had lived in Armenia since October 2024 while awaiting decisions on their applications.
Consensus
- Alexey and Maria Moskalev fled Russia in October 2024 and moved to Armenia.
- They applied for a German humanitarian visa after leaving Russia.
- Germany effectively closed its humanitarian visa program for Russians in late 2025.
- France issued them humanitarian visas on March 10, 2026.
- They arrived in Paris from Yerevan the day after receiving their visas.
- They were granted political asylum in France on July 17, 2026.
- Alexey was sentenced to two years in prison for 'discrediting the Russian army'.
- The incident that triggered persecution began when Maria drew an anti-war image at school in April 2022.
- Maria was initially placed in a shelter and later sent to live with her mother, whom she rarely saw.
Points of divergence
- Alexey Moskalev received the political asylum decision while cooking soup at home; his daughter Masha was notified via SMS from OFPRA and responded with a message saying 'Dad, we finally got asylum'. — meduza
- The family arrived in Paris on March 11, 2026, the day after receiving their French humanitarian visas. — novaya_eu
Coverage (3 sources)
- "My first impression of Paris is an open-air museum!" Alexei and Maria Moskalovs finally receive political asylum — Meduza
- Alexei and Maria Moskalovs received political asylum in France — Новая газета Европа
- Alexey and Masha Moskalovs Received Political Asylum in France — Meduza