Russian artist jailed for seven years over Ukraine war price tag protest

Aleksandra Skochilenko: ‘How fragile must the prosecutor’s belief in our state and society be, if he thinks that our statehood and public safety can be brought down by five small pieces of paper?’ Photograph: Anatoly Maltsev/EPA

A Russian court has sentenced a St Petersburg artist to seven years in prison in a closely watched trial that has highlighted the severe punishments meted out to ordinary Russians for even small acts of civil protest against the invasion of Ukraine.

Aleksandra “Sasha” Skochilenko, an artist, musician and activist, was found guilty on Thursday of “knowingly spreading false information about the Russian army” in March 2022. The artist replaced five price tags in a local supermarket with pieces of paper urging shoppers to stop the war and resist propaganda on television.