Teenage daughter of former political prisoner sought by Russian authorities over social media posts

The Russian authorities have been attempting to locate Maria Moskalyova, a schoolgirl whose anti-war artwork indirectly led to her father, Alexey Moskalyov, being imprisoned in 2023, Moskalyov told independent Russian radio station Ekho FM on Wednesday.

According to Moskalyov, his daughter had learned that the authorities were looking for her in relation to “a Telegram channel where she links to things the Russian authorities see as negative, talks about the crimes being committed, and leaves her own commentary. I think they want to open a new case.”

Though no criminal proceedings have yet been opened, both Moskalyova and her father, who currently reside outside Russia, fear that if a criminal case is opened, it could lead Moskalyova being refused the biometric passport she is currently waiting for.

Despite the pair applying for German humanitarian visas almost a year ago, neither has had their application granted yet, leaving them both in legal limbo.

Alexey Moskalyov was released from a penal colony in October 2024 after serving a custodial sentence of one year and 10 months following his conviction for “discrediting” the Russian army in posts he made on the popular Russian social media platform Odnoklassniki.