- A Moscow court sentenced comedian Artyom Ostanin to six years in prison.
- The stand-up comedian was found guilty of inciting hatred and insulting religious sentiments.
- His joke about a war veteran drew widespread criticism and prosecution.
- Russia is intensively suppressing opponents of the war and critics of the Kremlin’s policies.
A court in Moscow found stand-up comedian Artyom Ostanin guilty on Wednesday for inciting hatred and insulting religious sentiments and sentenced him to almost six years in prison. The impetus for the prosecution was Ostanin’s joke about a war veteran who lost his legs. As reported by the AFP agency, this is the latest case of prosecution of people who criticize the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine.
AFP added that Ostanin told a story on stage last year about how he met legless beggars in the subway posing as war veterans. A clip of the joke was published online and became the target of sharp criticism from pro-Kremlin celebrities and pro-government media, who demanded that the comedian be punished for insulting Russian soldiers wounded in the war in Ukraine.
Ostanin denied in court that his joke referred to “special military operation” veteranswhich is a phrase used in Russia to refer to the war in Ukraine. However, the investigators characterized his statement as an attack against persons with disabilities and, in particular, as an insult to war invalids and veterans of the war in Ukraine.
According to the court, Ostanin offended religious feelings by joking about Jesus. which he read in November 2022 at a solo performance at the Stand Up Brothers club. A sentence entered the file from the comedian’s alleged imaginary conversation with Jesus: “I brought information to the people, and you know what they did? Well, they crucified me.”
The comedian apologized in court to all those who felt offended by his jokes about religion. However, he described the victims in this case as “professional whistleblowers”. In his closing speech before the court, Ostanin declared: “I hope that no one will ever find themselves in the same situation of brutal abuse of rights as I was.”
Ostanin was placed on Russia’s list of terrorists and extremists in 2025 after he was detained in Belarus at Russia’s request. This procedure is commonly used in Russia to suppress dissent and attack opponents. Since the start of the offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has intensified its campaign to silence critics of the Kremlin’s policies.
