Russian schoolgirl called Russians fighting for Ukraine heroes. She faces prison camp

A military court established under the now defunct Russian Western Military District ruled that 17-year-old Yeva Bagrova had participated in terrorist activities by posting photos of RDK soldiers on a school bulletin board.

Der 17-jährigen Jeva Bagrowa drohen vier Jahre Strafkolonie. Foto: Jeva Bagrowa/Facebook

Eva Bagrova. Photo: Eva Bagrova/Facebook

At the end of 2024, Standard reported on the decision of the Kirov District Court in St. Petersburg not to grant minor Yeva Bagrova, accused of condoning terrorism, the option of house arrest. At that time, the defendant spent two months in pre-trial detention based on the court's decision.

On January 20, the student's lawyer, Dmitry Arevkin, told the Viorstka portal that the Western District Military Court had sentenced Bagrova in October last year to four years' imprisonment in a penal colony for approving terrorism and supporting terrorist activities. The defense has appealed to the court of appeals.

On the left is RDK founder and commander Denis Nikitin, on the right is RDK soldier Alexei Lovkin. Photo: Alexei Lovkin/Telegram

Approval of terrorism

In 2024, a student posted photos of two Russians she considers "distinguished heroes of Russia" on a bulletin board at a St. Petersburg elementary school. Both are members of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK). They are Denis Nikitin, known by his combat nickname White Rex or his original surname Kapustin, and Alexei Lovkin, a member of the corps he founded.

Both are fighting on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the forces of the Russian Federation. The Kremlin has declared the organization a terrorist group, and its founder has been sentenced twice in absentia to life imprisonment. A short report on the photos on the school bulletin board appeared on one of the RDK's Telegram channels with the description "they don't teach evil at school" after it was publicized in the media.

Law enforcement authorities found that the photos had been hanging in the school for several days. First, they detained the deputy headmistress responsible for educational work at the school. When she denied responsibility, security forces detained Yeva Bagrova on the night of December 27-28, 2024, and the next day, the court sent her to two months of pre-trial detention.

Anna Tironová, a member of the RDK who became widely known after the publication of the year-end report, stated that the school's principal is Marija Kovalevová.

Jeva Bagrovová. Photo: Jeva Bagrovová/Facebook

Reaction of the "terrorists"

After the media began reporting on the charges against the young student, Nikitin wrote on his Telegram channel at the end of 2024: "The fear of the schoolgirl is so great that they decided to lock her up! What a shame and endless weakness [of the regime, editor's note], yuck! Eighth grader, hang in there!"

"Four years in a penal colony for a 17-year-old student—for photos on a bulletin board. This is what 'justice' looks like today in a terrorist state... Freedom for Yeva Bagrova!" Lovkin said on January 20 this year. The next hearing is scheduled for January 22 and will take place at the Military Court of Appeal, where, according to her lawyer Arevkin, the defendant will be represented by another lawyer.

Based on data from the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Russian exile media outlet Viorstka calculated that since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, more than 158 children aged 14 to 17 have been convicted in Russia and occupied Crimea for terrorist acts, support for terrorism, participation in the activities of a terrorist organization, incitement to terrorism, and sabotage.

Most children were convicted of terrorism, i.e., under Articles 205 and 205.1 to 205.5 of the Criminal Code, in 2024, with as many as 41 convictions. To date, 27 children have been convicted of sabotage, which was defined in sections 281.1 to 281.3 of the legislation at the end of 2022.

Viorstka points out that the data does not include court decisions from the occupied parts of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.

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It should be noted that on December 28, 2024, when Bagrovová was first detained, the Kremlin declared a number of organizations to be terrorist, including the regional media outlet Komi Daily, which focuses on the culture of the Komi people, and the very name of the Republic of Karelia in the Karelian language and other local dialects (Karjalan Tašavalta, Tazavaldkund, Tazavaldu).