Five years in prison for Nenets librarian accused of shouting ‘Slava Ukraini!’

The librarian from the remote Nenets village of Krasnoye is sentenced for 'discrediting the Russian army' and 'propagating Nazism.'

FSB officers earlier this year raided the house of Konstantin Ledkov and apprehended the 32-year-old man. A carefully staged video shows how several FSB officers with their faces covered by masks lead the handcuffed man out of his house. Krasnoye is a village located in far northern Russia, about 50 km north of the Nenets capital of Naryan-Mar. According to the FSB, Ledkov has made statements that are ‘critical towards the foreign policy course of Russia’ and a ‘threat to national security.’ The security service also says that he publicly has propagated ‘Nazi ideology.’ Part of the case are several social media posts, among them a post where Ledkov wrote the words “No to war!” Ledkov was denounced by two of his fellow villagers. The denouncers claim that Ledkov shouted ‘Slava Ukraini!’ (Glory to Ukraine!).

Ledkov himself argues he did not utter the words. The denouncers are also believed to have seriously beaten him. Paramedics recorded numerous injuries on Ledkov. A regional court has now sentenced the librarian to 5,5 years in prison. The number of cases for ‘discrediting the army’ (Article 280.3 of the Russian Criminal Code) has boomed following the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

The cases are used to suppress public dissent and intimate the population. Similarly, the accusations of ‘Nazi propaganda’ are increasingly common in the cases – as a way to toughen the punishment and create an enemy image of the accused. Also Kontantin Ledkov’s father has caught the attention of the FSB. Valery Ledkov has been under investigation for having transferring 300 roubles to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (RBK), the organisation operated by Aleksei Navalny and his team. According to the procurator, Ledkov financed an ‘extremist organisation.’