A Russian Tik Toker and his girlfriend were jailed for 10 month for imitating sex in front of a Moscow cathedral.
Today, Moscow’s Tverskoi district Court found Anastasia Chistova and Ruslan Murodzhonzoda guilty of ‘offending religious sentiment’. They imitated oral sex in front St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.
It was the latest arrest for a minor violation in Russia, where Vladimir Putin has been pushing a more conservative agenda.
They were taken into custody by the police in late September after he posted a photo of Chistova kneeling near the cathedral on Moscow’s Red Square.
The caption for the photo is “The Labor Code Is Not the Criminal.” [Code]The blonde woman was wearing a Russian police jacket.
Russian Tik Toker Ruslan Murodzhonzoda was jailed with his girlfriend Anastasia Chistova for simulating sexual sex in front St Basil’s cathedral in Moscow.
The couple were found guilty by Moscow’s Tverskoi district court of ‘offending religious sentiment’ (pictured, a side view of the picture posted to Instagram)
After posting the photo, the pair were held for 10 days. The blogger apologized for the picture and was fined $71.
The court announced the new sentence today by saying: “Anastastasia Chistova, Ruslani Morodzhonzoda committed actions publically expressing clear disrespect for the society.”
Murodzhonzoda posts mostly pranks via social media, while Chistova is described as an Instagram model by the media.
It was the latest retaliation against a minor violation in Russia, where Vladimir Putin has been pushing a more conservative agenda
Putin returned to Moscow in 2012 to serve a third term. He has sought to defend traditional values, and promote Russia as an antithesis of the West.
Two Pussy Rebelt members were sentenced to 2 years in a penal prison for hooliganism in the same year. They had performed in a cathedral protesting Putin’s close ties with the Russian Orthodox church.
The authorities have imprisoned Alexei Navalny (a top Kremlin critic) for two-and a half years on embezzlement charges. This is an unprecedented crackdown on any form of dissent or independent media.
Two Pussy Riot members were sentenced to two-years in a penal colony for hooliganism in 2012 after they performed in a cathedral protesting close ties between Putin, the Russian Orthodox Church, and were found guilty of performing in a terroristic act.
Leoniod Volkov, Navalny’s close associate, said that the blogger’s case on Twitter was “madness, just madness.”
He stated, “They DID NOT do anything,” adding, “It’s just one picture.”
Kevin Rothrock, managing editor of the English-language edition of Meduza, said: ‘This prank, a simulated act of oral sex with St. Basil’s Cathedral in the background, has just resulted in 10-month prison sentences for its two young participants.
‘Nearly a year behind bars — for a joke.’
Memorial, a top rights group, stated this week that Russia’s number of political prisoners has risen to 420 from 362 in 2013. This is part of a trend that recalls Soviet-era repression.