Russia opens criminal proceedings against creator of Masyanya cartoon

Russia has opened criminal proceedings against Oleg Kuvaev, creator of the animated series Masyanya, for "public actions against the state's security".

Source: North.Realities, a regional news outlet of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Russian Service

Kuvaev was served with a notice of suspicion in absentia, as he has not lived in Russia since 2006. He has not yet been declared wanted.

The reason for initiating the criminal proceedings was Kuvaev’s animated series Masyanya, in which the main character explains to Russian soldiers how to surrender. The scene in question is probably one in an episode entitled "Idoliade".

Quote: "Dear Russian soldier, current or potential. There is no justice, no homeland, no honour behind your back. This is purely a war of aggression – no valour, only shame," Masyanya says in the cartoon.

Not only that, the series has a direct link to the I Want to Live project – the Ukrainian centre for receiving surrender requests from the Russian military.

"I Want to Live can seriously be salvation for you if you have fallen into the bulldozer of Putin's mobilisation/cremation. The I Want to Live project is for you. Please stay alive, don't turn into a bloody piece of meat," Masyanya says.

Oleg Kuvaev insists that he knows nothing about the criminal case. He has seen no official information about the initiation of the proceedings.

Under Russian law, the artist could face up to six years in prison.

Kuvaev, who lives in Israel, has released several episodes of Masyanya that are critical of the actions of Vladimir Putin and the Russian military since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Roskomnadzor [the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media] blocked the website of the animated series after an anti-Putin episode was released in March 2022.

In July of that year, Kuvaev released an episode called "St Mariuburg" (an allusion to Mariupol), in which China attacks the Russian Federation to "cleanse Russia of fascists".

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