A resident of Yasnaya Polyana was accused of “discrediting” for a book about Tolstoy

Roman Altukhov, a resident of Yasnaya Polyana in the Tula region, was detained on suspicion of the so-called repeated discrediting of the Russian army because of his work on Leo Tolstoy, which contained criticism of the war in Ukraine. This follows from a message from the Telegram channel “Tula. ExtremeZm” associated with the security forces. “Sota” also reports on the detention.

Leo Tolstoy’s estate was located in Yasnaya Polyana, and the writer is buried there. Altukhov published a two-volume book entitled “No war! Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy”, in which he talks about the writer’s pacifism. As “Sota” indicates, the work begins with the following words: “When we started writing this small book on September 9, 2022, one of the most despicable wars of modern times had not yet been crowned with the much-awaited victory of Ukraine over its eastern neighbor-aggressor.” The first volume of the publication is entitled “Leo Tolstoy: still against the war.”

In the summer of 2022, the Shchyokinsky Interdistrict Court of the Tula Region fined Altukhov 30,000 rubles under an administrative article on discrediting the army due to publications in VKontakte. Repeated discrediting is already punishable under the criminal procedure, according to this article may be threatened with imprisonment.

In the Telegram channel “Tula. ExtremeZm” appeared a video, apparently recorded after the detention, in which Altukhov says that he published “materials that defame and discredit the Armed Forces”, apologizes and says that he is “ready to bear the punishment.” It is not known whether a measure of restraint was chosen in relation to him.

Russian investigative bodies consider any action or statement that can be linked to an anti-war position or support for Ukraine – from chanting “No war” or singing Ukrainian songs to direct condemnation of the Russian invasion – discrediting the army.