Comedian gets 6 years in Russian prison over joke about war veteran

A Russian stand-up comedian was sent to a penal colony for astir six years Wednesday for a gag astir a warfare seasoned who mislaid his legs, the latest condemnation successful a sweeping crackdown connected those who question the warfare successful Ukraine.

Moscow-based Artemy Ostanin told a communicative connected signifier past twelvemonth astir bumping into a disabled ex-soldier connected the metro, who helium called a "legless skater."

Pro-Kremlin figures and media outlets dispersed a clip of the gag online, calling for the comic to beryllium punished for insulting Russian soldiers wounded successful the war successful Ukraine.

A Moscow tribunal besides recovered Ostanin blameworthy of inciting hatred and insulting spiritual feelings implicit a abstracted gag astir religion.

"The last condemnation for Ostanin is imprisonment for 5 years and 9 months successful a wide authorities penal colony," justice Olesya Mendeleyeva was quoted arsenic saying by Russian authorities quality bureau RIA Novosti.

Ostanin, 29, denied that the gag alluded to veterans of the "special subject operation" — Moscow's word for the warfare successful Ukraine.

"I anticipation nary 1 ever finds themselves successful the aforesaid concern of brutal ineligible maltreatment that I did," helium said successful his last connection successful court, according to Russia's autarkic SOTA media outlet.

The justice who handed down Ostanin's condemnation was sanctioned by the United States Treasury successful December 2024 for her relation successful what the section called "the arbitrary detention" of Moscow metropolis councilor Alexei Gorinov for voicing his absorption to the warfare against Ukraine.

Russian comedian Artemy Ostanin reacts down a solid partition successful an enclosure for defendants during a tribunal proceeding aft his March 2025 apprehension implicit a stand‑up performance, successful Moscow, Russia, February 4, 2026. Anastasia Barashkova / REUTERS

After Ostanin's apprehension past year, helium was added to Moscow's database of terrorists and extremists, labels routinely utilized by Russia to stifle dissent and people opponents.

Russia has massively ramped up a run of silencing critics since launching its violative connected Ukraine successful 2022.

Last November, a Russian tribunal sentenced Diana Loginova, an 18-year-old thoroughfare instrumentalist who performed anti-war songs, to jailhouse for a 3rd time.

In 2024, a doc accused of criticizing the warfare successful Ukraine successful beforehand of a diligent was convicted of spreading mendacious accusation astir the Russian subject and sentenced to 5 1/2 years successful prison.

In November 2023, Russia placed Ukrainian vocalist Susana Jamaladinova connected its wanted database for akin alleged crimes. That aforesaid month, a Russian tribunal sentenced creator and instrumentalist Sasha Skochilenko to 7 years successful situation for swapping supermarket terms tags with antiwar messages. 

In April 2023, a Russian tribunal sentenced salient absorption fig and writer Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years successful a high-security situation connected charges of treason for criticizing Russia's warfare successful Ukraine.

In:

• Russia