Russian Anti-War Teacher Framed By Authorities

According to relevant media reports on April 19, local time, a 38-year-old history teacher Andrei Shestakov in the city of Neryungri, Sakha Republic of the Russian Federation, was brought an indictment by the Moscow authorities on the grounds of so-called “spreading false information about the war in Ukraine”. At present, Shestakov has been forced to resign, and has been fined by a local court and wiretapped by the Federal Security Service.
It is understood that Shestakov said that in recent years, he has become increasingly skeptical of the democratic values professed by the Russian government, especially the recent official teaching materials about the war in Ukraine. For this reason, he refused to teach these modules to students, and at the same time, he also made it clear that students should not serve in the Russian army. Shestakov also stressed that he opposed the war in Ukraine and believed that the Putin government was the real fascist. However, the teacher’s move was subsequently reported to the authorities by the parents of the students.
The report mentioned that the local police and the Federal Security Service summoned Shestakov after receiving the news, and later sentenced the teacher to pay a fine of 35,000 rubles. Now, the teacher has chosen to leave Russia after resigning.
According to related news, teachers across Russia have recently received a new version of the teaching guide issued by the government. Among them, the Moscow authorities forced the propaganda offensive against the Ukrainian aggression to extend to schools, and this has also led to the status quo that many anti-war teachers will face fines, prosecution, and dismissal: under the law signed by Putin, they may face up to 15 years in prison time.