‍48-year-old Lydia Prudovskaya from the Arkhangelsk region left Russia after a criminal case was initiated against her for repeatedly "discrediting" the army, and her children started receiving threats. The case opened following a report by a resident who complained about her anti-war posts on social media. This is what Lydia told Sever.Realii about her departure and her plans in a new country.

Lydia worked for a construction company. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, she wrote anti-war posts highlighting the crimes committed by Russian soldiers, including the mass killings in Bucha. By August 2022, she faced her first fine under the new law on discrediting the Russian army, accused of criticizing the actions of the Russian leadership, and was fined 35,000 rubles.

The complaint against her was written by serviceman Ilya Bryushinin. According to Lydia, they had never met or communicated in person; he simply followed her VKontakte profile. "Given Prudovskaya's extensive audience, this could lead to a distorted and incorrect perception of the goals and objectives of the Russian Armed Forces among other users," he wrote. She has 1,100 friends and 447 followers on VKontakte.

"People live in poverty"

Long before the war, Lydia had experience fighting for her rights after being unlawfully dismissed from her job. She later earned a legal education and started assisting others facing difficult situations. She mentions not considering herself an activist due to her responsibilities towards her two young children and limited free time. Her son, Zhenya, was adopted from an orphanage as a baby.

“When the war started, I was living in a military town. I posted against all of it. Many servicemen I know or know of wrote to me, 'Lida, why are you doing this?' And they are still asking, 'Do you need this?'  I don’t know why I need this... I do it more for myself, probably, to stay human, and perhaps so that others might reflect on certain matters,” Lydia shares. 

In the summer of 2023, a criminal case for repeatedly discrediting the Russian Armed Forces was brought against Prudovskaya due to her social media posts.

"I just see what's happening around, all this lawlessness. The plundering of the country started long before the war. People are living in poverty while some indulge in luxury on money that belongs to the Russian populace. I’ve always been troubled that all laws seem to be enacted against the people. Now, when Ukrainian children and the elderly are being killed, I cannot remain silent about it. Am I to lie to myself that what’s happening is good? Engaging in dialogues with neighbors and acquaintances claiming 'We are defending Russia's rights,' I counter, 'How can you defend your rights on someone else’s territory?' No one attacked us. We did not need Crimea. I have neighbors in the village who have never left it but who feel happy that Crimea is ours. They live in utter poverty, but for them, Putin is great. I say, where is he great? What has he truly done for you? In our village, we don’t even have a basic pharmacy, not to mention healthcare. If something happens to your child, you can’t even buy medicine. But Crimea is ours, and that is what matters most for them," Lydia reflects.

Lydia's two underage children, Alesia and Zhenya, were taken for interrogation by the Investigative Committee. Lydia was barred from attending it, although it was illegal. The investigator, a pedagogue-psychologist, and a guardianship authority representative inquired how she treated her children and whether there were computers and mobile phones with internet access at home.

The criminal case led to Lydia’s and her children’s eviction from the service housing provided to her ex-husband, a military man, where they had lived for about 10 years. Lydia was not given a formal reason, but she attributes the eviction to her social media posts. 

Eventually, Lydia and her children relocated from the military town of Mirny to the village of Samkovo in the Arkhangelsk region. They purchased a small house, renovated it, and the children enrolled in the local school. "Everything stabilized," Lydia states.

However, Lydia soon found herself jobless due to persecution, struggling to find new employment as potential employers balked upon learning of the criminal case against her.

Problems also arose with villagers in their small community of 50, making it impossible to conceal the criminal case. Her children faced questions from classmates like, "So, your mom supports Ukraine?" Villagers came to her place for "clarifications," inquiring if she was "for [the Ukrainians] or not." 

"How could I then abandon the children? Their father, a serviceman in the Bryansk region, wouldn’t be allowed to go to them, and the children would have been left alone," Lydia explains. 

She disclosed her decision to leave Russia with her children to no one, realizing that she couldn’t get away with just a fine or probation in the criminal case and was likely to be put in prison for several years, with her children sent to an orphanage. 

Lydia discovered through the case files that her phone had been tapped since the onset of the war and feared leaks to "the wrong people," even if inadvertent.

"We exited through Belarus. At the border, our documents underwent lengthy scrutiny. I was anxious, but ultimately, we were allowed passage. We departed with three small backpacks, mainly containing children’s food for the journey and their toys," Lydia recounts.

Following her departure, Lydia was declared wanted, and a written undertaking not to leave the place was replaced with two months of restraint of liberty during another court session regarding her criminal case.

"This implies immediate arrest at any border crossing. Yet, should the regime change, if something in the country starts to change, then, of course, I’d wish to return. We’ve left behind so many friends and relatives," Lydia sighs.

"The mood changed instantly"

After Lydia departed from Russia, her home was subject to another search, as neighbors reported. The initial search occurred while Lydia was still in Russia. With prior notification, her home was searched by several police officers who seized a laptop, a tablet, and mobile phones, including old and inoperable ones.

For the subsequent search, officers from Arkhangelsk, rather than from the geographically closer Plesetsk, visited Prudovskaya's home. Lydia remains unaware of the items confiscated.

"They alleged that by that time I had committed not just one crime, but two, saying that I had supposedly stolen a child," Lydia chuckles. This new "charge" of child theft relates to her departure with her adopted son, though no formal accusations were made. 

Lydia and her children currently reside in Tbilisi and are in touch with human rights organizations to facilitate their move to Europe. She is hopeful about dedicating more of her time to human rights activities soon, specifically aiming to assist Russian soldiers unwilling to serve on the front lines.

"A human rights organization has sheltered us. The living conditions here are decent, and the people are exceptionally kind. Everyone is supportive. Without their help, we would have struggled to cope," she shares. "Upon arrival, I was in a depressive state because it's challenging to be in a foreign country with children, where everything is uncertain, and our entire future seems shrouded in mist."

A week after settling in Georgia, Lydia connected with local activists and, for the first time in her life, participated in a large rally.

"There was the lead singer of Pornofilmy, a band I frequently listen to. Coming back from the rally, I felt incredibly uplifted; my mood changed instantly. It was due to realizing the sheer number of people around me who oppose the war and everything associated with it, and generally how many refuse to accept all this," she says.

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