Russians find themselves on trial for sharing memes
MOSCOW — In 2015, Eduard Nikitin shared a joke on social media about Russia’s bleak future. Three years later he is facing trial on extremism charges over this and one other meme.
The case against the 42-yearold is part of a wider trend that has seen Russian authorities bring charges against people for seemingly innocuous, humorous posts in increasing numbers.
Lawyers say the Kremlin is trying to force people to think twice before sharing opinions online — one of the last remaining spaces where the opposition is relatively free to organize.
“It turns out that for a harmless joke, anybody who doesn’t agree with our country’s leadership can be prosecuted,” Mr. Nikitin’s lawyer, Maxim Kamakin, said after a preliminary hearing in Saint Petersburg on Aug. 20.
In one of the incriminating posts from Mr. Nikitin, who is disabled and currently unemployed, a father crudely tells his son that nothing will be getting better in Russia any time soon.
The other features a drawing of a “vatnik” — a padded coat popular during the Soviet period that is also slang for uneducated Russians who uncritically follow those in authority.
The “absurd” case has seen Mr. Nikitin’s bank account blocked, his computer briefly confiscated and left the activist unable to participate in any opposition campaigns, according to his lawyer.
The vaguely worded charges he faces — inciting hatred or degradation of human dignity — carry a maximum six-year jail term, though most convictions lead to a shorter sentence, fine or community service.
In the Siberian Altai region, legal proceedings were opened more than a year ago against Daniil Markin, a 19-year-old film student who shared memes including a picture of Jon Snow, a character from the Game of
Thrones HBO TV series. Under the image was written “Jon Snow is risen — Truly he is risen!,” a play on the Orthodox Easter greeting, which has led to the teenager’s ongoing prosecution on the grounds of religious hatred.
Maria Motuznaya, a 23-yearold who like Mr. Markin comes from the Altai city of Barnaul, faces separate extremism charges for images saved on the VKontakte network — Russia’s Facebook equivalent, which rights groups say cooperates with security services. One of them, featuring apparently African children holding out empty bowls, carries the caption: “black humor is like food — not everybody gets it.”
“Too often the actions of law enforcement agencies clearly do not correspond to the potential threat and their reaction to posts or memes are groundlessly harsh,” Mail.ru, which owns VKontakte, said earlier this month.
The company, owned by the Kremlin-friendly billionaire Alisher Usmanov, called for a change in the law and an “amnesty” for “those who were unjustly convicted and serving time on such charges.” Russiais communications ministry has also supported a relaxation of the law.
According to the independent rights group Agora, 43 people were given prison terms for Internet posts in Russia in 2017, up from 32 the previous year. —