KIRKKENIEMI It all started with social media posts. Student Olesya Krivtsova criticized the Russian war on Instagram and another social service popular in Russia a year ago.
Soon, the Russian security service FSB appeared on Krivtsova’s doorstep in Arkhangelsk, northern Russia. The police ransacked the home and took the phone and computer.
– I was intimidated, threatened and finally put under house arrest, Krivtsova says.
According to Krivtsova, the other students of her major, the Northern Federation University, had exposed her. relatives in Russia disclosures take people to jail nowadays like Stalin’s during.
In the West, Krivtsova’s anti-war posts would be a normal exercise of freedom of opinion, but in Russia they are considered a defense of terrorism and denigration of the armed forces – i.e. crimes punishable by imprisonment.
The leg brace did not prevent escape
Krivtsova was dismissed from the university and a criminal investigation was started against her. During that time, an ankle bracelet was locked around his ankle to prevent him from escaping house arrest. It would alarm if Krivtsova left far from her home.
However, according to Krivtsova, the authorities were unable to trace her location after the alarm. So Krivtsova ran away from her home and immediately traveled from Russia via Belarus to Lithuania.
– I went from Arkhangelsk to Lithuania in different cars. Panta was on the leg all the time, but no longer functional. That’s how I got away, Krivtsova says.
In Lithuania, Krivtsova finally got the collar off.
Her husband also arrived in Lithuania after her. Parents, sister and other relatives stayed in Arkangeli.
– I am worried about their situation, and I miss them, Krivtsova says.
Refugee journalists continue their work in Kirkkoniemi
Krivtsova’s future in the West was open. He wrote on social media that he would like to pursue a career as a journalist. It opened in a special way.
Editor-in-chief of the Norwegian online newspaper Barents Observer Thomas Nilsen saw Krivtsova’s social media post and welcomed Krivtsova to work in her magazine’s opinion piece.
met Krivtsova and Nilsen at the Barents Observer editorial office in the small town of Kirkkoniemi, near the border with Russia.
– Krivtsova saw my writing and contacted me, Nilsen says.
In the online magazine Krivtsova gets to write about all the topics that the Russian media can’t touch.
The articles of the Barents Observer, which focuses on the affairs of the Northern Cape, are published in English and Russian. The site is banned in Russia, but Russians using a so-called VPN program can read the articles.
One Krivtsova about the latest news tells about a young Russian man who went to war from Pitkäranta in Karelia. According to his father, he died as a result of abuse in a military hospital.
According to editor-in-chief Nilsen, the paper has thousands of readers in Russia who want good journalism about the consequences of war, the suppression of civil society and the government’s lies.
Refugee journalists would be threatened with imprisonment in Russia
Krivtsova is one of four Russian journalists employed by the newspaper during the war. They can only dream of returning to Russia.
– I face up to ten years in prison for two posts. The court has ordered me to be imprisoned in absentia, which means that if I cross the Russian border, I will be imprisoned immediately, says Krivtsova.
It is only 15 kilometers from Kirkkoniemi to the only border station between Norway and Russia. Rajakunta also has a significant Russian minority.
Krivtsova: Even students support the war
According to Krivtsova, the majority of people in northern Russia support Putin’s war of aggression.
– Unfortunately, it is supported even by students, who should be smart and understand the seriousness of the situation, says Krivtsova.
Krivtsova’s assessment is supported by Russian opinion polls, although their results should be treated with caution. of the Levada center according to the most recent survey almost three quarters of Russians declared that they supported the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine.
In Krivtsova’s opinion, the social situation in Russia is now really depressing.
– Everything I’ve seen and see now is sad and dreary. It’s scary, says Krivtsova.
However, the gloomy situation has not discouraged Krivtsova. He wants to influence Russia’s future as a journalist.
– I have already made it to university, where I can study journalism, Krivtsova says.
It would take quite a bit of turmoil in the country’s leadership before Krivtsova would dare to return to Russia.
– Putin must die. The management has to change completely, and the whole system has to change. The dictatorship must give way, and I don’t know when that could happen, says Krivtsova.