▲ Irina Chivaneva


A woman who left a note in the graveyard of Russian President Vladimir Putin's parents saying she "raised monsters and murderers" has been sentenced to probation, the British daily The Guardian reported on Jan. 11.

A Russian court sentenced St. Petersburg resident Irina Chivaneva, 60, to two years of probation after she found her guilty of "desecrating the cemetery out of political hatred" for leaving an inscription on Putin's parents' grave on the eve of Putin's birthday last October.

The Guardian reported that Chivaneva was on the grave: "Parents of the maniac, take him to where you are. He caused too much pain and trouble. The whole world prays for his death. Death to Putin. You raised monsters, murderers."

Chivaneva's defense argued that Chivaneva was not guilty because she did not physically mutilate the mausoleum or try to publicize her actions.

The Guardian explained that since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February last year, the Russian government has been intensifying its crackdown on anti-war actions.

Earlier, a Russian military court sentenced history teacher Nikita Tushkanov, who he referred to on social media as "Putin's birthday present" during an explosion on the Crimean Bridge (Kerch Strait Bridge) connecting Crimea to mainland Russia in October last year, to five years and six months in prison for "justifying terrorism and insulting Russian forces."

Other names included actor Arthur Smoliyaninov, who said he would "fight on the side of Ukraine if I had to join the war," and Oleksi Arestovich, a former adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to the Russian government's list of "extremists and terrorists."

Meanwhile, Alexei Navalny, Russia's leading dissident in prison, said on Twitter that he was held in solitary confinement again a day after being released from solitary confinement.

However, there was no explanation as to why he was sent back to solitary confinement.

(Photo=AP, Yonhap News)