A court in St. Petersburg has sentenced 19-year-old Russian activist Daria Kozyreva to two years and eight months in prison for “discrediting the armed forces” after she protested the war in Ukraine by quoting a 19th-century Ukrainian poem, according to multiple independent media reports and human rights groups.
Kozyreva, who began her activism in 2022—the year Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine—was charged after she taped an excerpt from Testament by Ukraine’s national poet, Taras Shevchenko, to his statue in a city park on the war’s second anniversary in February 2024. The quote read:
“Oh bury me, then rise ye up / And break your heavy chains / And water with the tyrants’ blood / The freedom you have gained.”
Authorities interpreted the literary quote as a call to violence and used it as the basis for a criminal charge under Russia’s wartime censorship laws, which broadly prohibit public criticism of the military.
Kozyreva had previously faced penalties for her outspoken stance. In December 2022, she was detained for spray-painting an anti-war message on a monument symbolizing ties between St. Petersburg and Mariupol—a Ukrainian city that suffered extensive Russian bombardment. By early 2024, she had been expelled from university and fined for calling the invasion an act of imperialism.
Before sentencing, Kozyreva was held in pre-trial detention for nearly a year and underwent a forced psychiatric evaluation, a practice increasingly used by Russian authorities against dissidents. She was later released under restrictive conditions, including a curfew and limited access to communication.
Amnesty International condemned the conviction as an attack on free expression. Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty’s Director for Russia, said in a public statement:
“Daria Kozyreva is being punished for quoting a classic of 19th-century Ukrainian poetry, for speaking out against an unjust war, and for refusing to stay silent. This case is another chilling reminder of how far the Russian authorities will go to silence peaceful opposition.”
Amnesty has called for Kozyreva’s immediate and unconditional release, alongside others imprisoned under Russia’s escalating wartime censorship.
Sources: Jurist.com article by Ellie Cho (University of Ottawa), Amnesty International, local Russian media reports.
