Russian Woman Detained Over Hate Note On Vladimir Putin's Parents' Grave: Report

A Russian woman has been arrested after reportedly leaving a note on the grave of President Vladimir Putin's parents asking them to "take him" with them. On Monday, 60-year-old Irina Tsbaneva was detained and charged for desecrating the grave in the anti-war protest. She left the note on the grave on October 6, the day before Mr Putin turned 70. 

Citing Russian news site Mediazona, Newsweek reported that the Ms Tsbaneva managed to evade security at Serafimovskoe cemetery where Vladimir Putin's parents' gravestones lie, in order to leave a note that expressed her view of the Kremlin leader and the war he had started in Ukraine. In the letter, she described Mr Putin as a "freak and a killer" and also stated that the "whole world prays for his death". 

"Parents of a serial killer, take him with you, we have so much pain and misery from him, the whole world prays for his death," the note read, adding, "Death to Putin, you raised a freak and a killer." 

Also Read | Putin Warns Of "Global Catastrophe" If NATO Clashes With Russian Army

As per the outlet, the cemetery security guard found the note and immediately sent it to law enforcement. Ms Tsbaneva was then identified from the surveillance cameras, following which the cops took her into custody where she was locked up "for a long time". 

Ms Tsbaneva said that she immediately confessed to writing the note, which was confirmed by a DNA test and a handwriting expert. She was reportedly charged with desecrating a burial site based on political or ideological hostility, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. 

During a court hearing on Wednesday, the 60-year-old woman said that she was inspired to act after watching news coverage of the war that made her realise that "everything is very scary, everything is very sad, many people have been killed". 

A prosecution, on the other hand, called her stunt "brazen" and argued for having her locked up. However, a presiding judge sentenced Mr Tsbaneva to house arrest until November 8, 2022, and prohibited her from using the internet, phone or mail. 

Also Read | Many Women In Russia Charged In Relation To Anti-War Protests: Report

Speaking to the Russian news site Mediazona, Ms Tsbaneva stated that her punishment was "harsh" but she added that in the context of the current situation in Russia, "it's really not that bad". 

Vladimir Putin's parents, Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin and Maria Ivanovna Putina, were both born in 1911, and died in 1999 and 1998 respectively before their son became the President of Russia.