A court in Russia’s Vladivostok has fined local activist Giya Kakabadze to the tune of 40,000 rubles (€680) for holding up an anti-war sign with a quote by Russian rock musician Yuri Shevchuk, the NetFreedomsProject reports.
The sign reads: “The Motherland is not the president’s ass. You don’t have to kiss it all the time!”
Giya Kakabadze. Photo: activatica Telegram channel
The court found Kakabadze guilty of spreading information expressing “blatant disrespect to the public and the state”. His attorney Sergey Valliullin plans to appeal the verdict.
Nadezhda Oleshkevich, associate professor of the Department of Philosophy and Legal Psychology of the Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service, was an expert with the prosecution. She stated that the use of the word “ass” is tied to the identity of Russian President Vladimir Putin “as a representative (a symbol and embodiment) of the state”.
In mid-March, unknown perpetrators painted the letters Z and V, the symbols of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on Kakabadze’s car.
On 18 May, police charged Yuri Shevchuk, the leader of Russian rock band DDT, with “discrediting” the Russian army over his anti-war statements during a concert in Ufa. “Once again, the youth of Russia and Ukraine perishes. Old men, women and children are being killed. All this for some Napoleonic plans of another Caesar of ours, right? My friends, the Motherland is not the president’s ass. You don’t have to kiss it all the time. The Motherland is a dirt-poor old woman selling potatoes at the train station,” he said.
