From Anti-War Sketch To Exile: Russian Father And Daughter Defy Putin

When Maria Moskalyova was 12, she drew a picture at school of missiles flying above a Russian flag toward a woman and child standing beside a Ukrainian flag.

"No to Putin and war", was scrawled on the Russian flag.

Russia had just invaded Ukraine, and the anti-war sketch changed the child's life forever, setting her and her single father on a path toward separation, imprisonment, and exile.

The school's headmistress contacted authorities in the small town of Yefremov, south of Moscow, where the Moskalyovs lived, and police and the security services quickly swooped.

Alexei Moskalyov said police showed him Maria's drawing for the first time. He insisted that they had done nothing wrong.

"What's criminal about it?" he told police. "My daughter and I are not waging a war against Ukraine and its people."

Police threatened to take away custody of his daughter and scrutinised his social media for comments critical of the war.

Moskalyov, 58, pulled Maria out of school, hoping they would be left alone.

But months later he was placed under house arrest and then sentenced to two years in prison for "discrediting Russia's armed forces" on social media.

He fled but was caught in Belarus and handed over to Russian authorities.

"I passed through five prisons."

Moskalyov, who had been raising Maria alone since she was three, said he endured pressure, abuse, and punishment cells, but the separation from his daughter was the hardest of all.

'Complete Isolation'

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow intensified its crackdown on critics.

But splitting up Moskalyov and his daughter as a punishment for his criticism of the war shocked many and drew national attention.

The Kremlin defended the case, describing Moskalyov's parenting as "deplorable".

When Alexei was put under house arrest in March 2023, Maria was taken to a shelter where she spent a month, cut off from the outside world.

"I was in complete isolation," said Maria, now 16, adding she cried often.

"I didn't know who to ask about what was happening."

When Moskalyov fled the country, officials told her she should stop waiting for him.

"Your father has abandoned you," she said she was told.

Eventually, Maria went to live with her estranged mother, who was persuaded by the authorities to take her in.

For Moskalyov, the separation was heart-wrenching.

Weeks into his detention, a letter finally arrived. His lawyer said Maria was safe.

"From that moment on, my own fate no longer concerned me," he said.

"I thought to myself: now you can kill me, cut me up, execute me -- do whatever you want."

No Regrets

He recalled how one fellow inmate tried to kill him, an attack he believed was orchestrated by prison officials.

His cellmate was a Wagner mercenary, who encouraged him to sign up to fight in the war. When Moskalyov refused, the man tried to strangle him that night.

"I managed to break free, but I suffered head injuries, there was blood -- he slammed my head against the metal bed."

During a transfer between jails in a special train, he saw some prisoners subjected to particularly cruel conditions.

"Rough canvas sacks were pulled completely over their faces, their mouths tightly taped shut so they couldn't speak," Moskalyov said. "They were Ukrainian prisoners of war."

Moskalyov said he was also sent to a punishment cell which was pure "torture."

"It was horribly cold. Wake-up was as at five, and lights out at nine -- and all this time I had to stand and somehow keep moving just to avoid freezing."

At night, he covered himself tightly to protect himself against rat bites.

Moskalyov was reunited with his daughter after leaving prison in October 2024. But it quickly became clear the police had no intention of leaving them alone.

Several days later, the Moskalyovs left for Armenia.

They had hoped to go to Germany, but authorities tightened the rules for asylum seekers. They spent about 18 months waiting for German visas that never came.

France, in the end, accepted them.

In Strasbourg since March, father and daughter are rebuilding their lives from scratch. Maria must learn French to be able to finally finish school.

She said she wanted to go into politics one day.

"I truly hope things in Russia change for the better," she said.

Neither father nor daughter say they regret speaking out against the war.

"My convictions are worth more to me than any wealth in the world," said Alexei Moskalyov.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)