Anastasiya Dyudyaeva and Aleksandr Dotsenko are political prisoners
The spouses, both artists, have been convicted on charges of incitement of terrorism for allegedly putting postcards in support of Ukraine in a supermarket
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Anastasiya Dyudyaeva and Aleksandr Dotsenko political prisoners. The two have been convicted on charges of public incitement of terrorism for allegedly putting homemade postcards with verses handwritten in Ukrainian in a supermarket. The criminal prosecution of Dyudyaeva and Dotsenko violates their right to fair trial. We demand that Anastasiya Dyudyaeva and Aleksandr Dotsenko be immediately released and all criminal charges against them be dropped.
Who are Anastasiya Dyudyaeva and Aleksandr Dotsenko and what were the charges against them?
Anastasiya Dyudyaeva was trained as an art teacher. In recent years she has worked as a graphic artist and has created paintings about politics, war and repression. After the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Dyudyaeva became known in the St. Petersburg art community for her anti-war stance. Together with her husband Aleksandr Dotsenko, also an artist (and a native of Ukraine), Dyudyaeva organised a thematic exhibition in her own home on Victory Day, 9 May 2023. Police closed the exhibition.
On 24 January 2024, Dyudyaeva and Dotsenko were detained and the next day they were remanded in custody on charges of incitement of terrorism (Article 205.2, Part 1, of the Russian Criminal Code). The investigators claimed that in December 2023 the artists placed several postcards with poems ‘glorifying Stepan Bandera’ and ‘calling for the execution of Russian President Vladimir Putin’ in the Lenta hypermarket in St. Petersburg. In particular, it is alleged that the poem in Ukrainian contained the line ‘Путiняку на гiляку!’ [Putin to the gallows!].
On 18 July 2024, Dyudyaeva and Dotsenko were sentenced to three and a half years and three years in a low-security penal colony, respectively.
Why do we consider Dyudyaeva and Dotsenko political prisoners?
The investigators failed to prove that Dyudyaeva and Dotsenko had actually distributed the postcards. Part of the testimony given in court disproves this allegation. The CCTV does not show either of the spouses putting anything in the shop.
However, even if the artists did make the postcards, their actions would not constitute a crime. The texts on the postcards are strongly pro-Ukrainian, which in the context of Russian aggression against that country gives them an anti-war meaning. The phrase ‘Putin to the gallows!’ (an adaptation of a slogan used by Ukrainian nationalists) in this context is not a call to take Putin’s life, but an artistic condemnation of the Russian president and the war unleashed by him.
The criminal prosecution, conviction and imprisonment of Dyudyaeva and Dotsenko are clearly disproportionate to the potential public danger of the acts imputed to the artists and related to their anti-war viewstance.
A detailed description of Anastasiya Dyudyaeva and Aleksandr Dotsenko’s case and of our position is available on our website.
Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply the ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project agrees with, or approves, their views, statements, or actions.
How can you help?
You can write to Anastasiya Dyudyaeva and Aleksandr Dotsenko at the following addresses:
In Russian:
191123, г. Санкт-Петербург, ул. Шпалерная, д. 25, ФКУ СИЗО-3 ФСИН России по г. Санкт-Петербургу и Ленинградской области, Дюдяевой Анастасии Геннадьевне 1977 г. р.
188508, Ленинградская область, Ломоносовский р-н, Виллозское поселение, ул. Заречная, тупик, ФКУ СИЗО-6 УФСИН России по г. Санкт-Петербургу и Ленинградской области, Доценко Александру Леонидовичу 1960 г. Р.
In English:
Anastasiya Gennadievna Dyudyaeva (born 1977), Remand Prison No. 3, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, 25 Shpalernaya Street, St. Petersburg, 191123, Russia.
Aleksandr Leonidovich Dotsenko (born 1960), Remand Prison No. 6, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, Zarechnaya Street, Villozskoe Settlement, Lomonosovsky district, Leningrad Oblast, 188508, Russia.
You can send an email vi F-Pismo or ZT (for payment with Russian bank cards) or via PrisonMail (for payment with other bank cards).
Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the recipient.
Up-to-date information on this case is available on the Telegram channel of the support group for Anastasiya Dyudyaeva and Aleksandr Dotsenko.
You can donate to support all political prisoners in Russia.
