Stand-Up Comedian Sentenced to Prison Over Joke About War Veteran in Ukraine Crisis

A Russian stand-up comedian was recently sent to a penal colony for nearly six years after making a joke about a disabled war veteran, the latest conviction in a broader crackdown on critics questioning the conflict in Ukraine. Artemy Ostanin, a 29-year-old Moscow-based comic, faced almost eight years in prison following a Moscow court’s ruling that he had insulted both soldiers wounded during Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and religious sentiments.

Ostanin was found guilty of mocking an injured veteran by calling him a “legless skater” at a metro station. Pro-Kremlin figures and media outlets shared clips of the joke online, demanding Ostanin be punished for allegedly disparaging Russian soldiers. In addition to this conviction, he faced another sentence for making a derogatory remark about religion.

“The final verdict ordered Ostanin’s imprisonment in a general regime penal colony for five years and nine months,” Judge Olesya Mendeleyeva was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti, the Russian state news agency. Ostanin maintained that his joke did not refer to veterans of Ukraine’s conflict but denied any intention to insult war victims or religious groups.

Following his arrest last year, Ostanin was added to Moscow’s list of terrorists and extremists. The city councilor Alexei Gorinov faced arbitrary detention for criticizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine; his case resulted in sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department on the judge presiding over Gorinov’s trial.

Since Russia launched its offensive against Ukraine in 2022, it has significantly intensified a campaign to silence critics, employing labels such as “terrorist” and “extremist.” This crackdown includes multiple instances of imprisonment for those perceived as dissenters. For instance, an 18-year-old street musician named Diana Loginova was sentenced to jail for the third time in November last year after performing anti-war songs.

In April 2023, prominent opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza faced treason charges and a 25-year sentence for criticizing Russia’s war in Ukraine. Other notable cases include a doctor who criticized the conflict with a patient and was sentenced to five-and-a-half years, as well as an artist and musician Sasha Skochilenko who received seven-year prison terms after swapping supermarket price tags with antiwar messages.

Russia’s broader crackdown on critics has extended beyond Ostanin and his jokes. The regime’s actions have silenced voices that dared to question or oppose its war efforts in Ukraine.