A Real Prison Term for Posting a Historical Poster: Support Irina!

A Real Prison Term for Posting a Historical Poster: Support Irina!

Irina Kostrova is a history teacher from Sochi; she is 54 years old. In the past she practiced rhythmic gymnastics professionally, earned a sports rank, and worked as a children’s coach.

Administrative cases were opened against Irina twice because of her anti-war posts: one with the words “No to war” and a caricature image of Putin. And in 2025, a criminal case was opened against her over the display of Nazi symbols. The pretext was a Nazi Germany propaganda poster from 1945 that she had published on social media. It shows a soldier standing on a tank with the letter V and holding a flag with a swastika. Irina accompanied the post with an explanation of how fascist ideas were promoted through this illustration.

In April of last year, security forces detained Kostrova and handed her an already prepared report with a confession, which they forced her to sign through intimidation and deception. The court sentenced her to 1 year and 6 months in a settlement colony. On appeal, Irina’s lawyer managed to get the sentence reduced by 2 months. Cassation is ahead; this is the final stage of the court process at which the verdict can be challenged.

💰 We are raising 66,000 rubles for the lawyer’s work at the cassation stage. Support the fundraiser in rubles — it is safe!