Woman Tried for Defacing Military Exhibit After Deportation
A 25-year-old former police college student, Ariadna Litvinova, was tried in St. Petersburg for defacing a military exhibition with anti-war slogans after being deported from Turkey due to expired documents. She admitted to writing the messages but denied intending to discredit the army.
Consensus
- Ariadna Litvinova was tried in the Kuybyshevsky District Court of St. Petersburg on August 31, 2026.
- She was accused of defacing a military exhibition titled 'Together to Victory' with the slogans 'Murderers! Peace to Ukraine'.
- The exhibition was organized by a media agency of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
- Litvinova admitted to writing the slogans but denied intending to discredit the army.
- She was previously detained in custody and later released under a restriction order.
- She left Russia for Turkey in August 2025 and was deported back in July 2026 due to expired documents.
- The case was initially filed under vandalism charges, later upgraded to Article 280.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (discrediting the army).
- The court considered a psychological-linguistic expert report indicating the slogans could influence public perception of Russia's military actions.
- The damage to the exhibition was assessed at 135,000 rubles.
Points of divergence
- Litvinova was fined 50,000 rubles under an administrative charge for discrediting the army before the criminal case was initiated. — fontanka
- The criminal case was reclassified to Article 280.3 after her deportation. — fontanka
- The incident occurred on February 24, 2025, marking the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. — mediazona
- Litvinova was sent to a temporary detention center for over a month in Turkey before deportation. — mediazona
- Litvinova was initially held in pre-trial detention for one month before her release under a restriction order. — fontanka
- The case was upgraded to a criminal charge in late 2025. — mediazona
- The psychological-linguistic expert was not authorized to judge the defendant’s guilt. — fontanka
Coverage (2 sources)
- Not a political gesture. Deportee from Turkey responded to army discreditation charges in court — Фонтанка
- In St. Petersburg, the deported former college police student Ariadna Litvinova from Turkey began to be tried — Медиазона