“LOVE IS STRONGER THAN WAR”

A graffiti with the name "Sasha" on the wall of the courthouse where Sasha Skochilenko was tried, left by her friends as a sign of support.

Sasha Skochilenko is accused of leaving flyers resembling price tags in a store, containing anti-war messages opposing Russia's war in Ukraine. Two days after her arrest, Sasha was brought to court in handcuffs. She was charged with "spreading deliberately false information about the Russian army motivated by political hatred." Sasha's close friends and her girlfriend Sonya had hoped the judge would consider Sasha’s serious health issues: a heart condition, cyclothymia requiring a medication schedule, and celiac disease, which necessitates a special diet. However, the judge decided to place her under arrest.

Sasha's close friends and her girlfriend Sonya, who is in tears (center), applaud as Sasha is led out of the courtroom by the convoy to be taken to pre-trial detention. Sasha's trials always drew large crowds of supporters.

Sasha stands in the defendant's cage in the courtroom, making a heart symbol with her hands. Around Sasha Skocilenko’s case, a community of hundreds of people formed, and the support extended to other political prisoners in St. Petersburg. The trial stretched over several months, and the hostile courtroom of the Vasileostrovsky District Court unexpectedly became a space for solidarity and the defense of principles. In the first year of the full-scale war, more than 20,000 people were detained in Russia for political reasons. Criminal cases were opened against 370 people for anti-war statements and protests, many of which were based on denunciations. Among these cases was that of Sasha Skocilenko.

In a show of support, activist Anush Panina arrived with a festive crown and clown nose on Sasha’s birthday, which Sasha spent in court surrounded by friends, lawyers, bailiffs, and the judge. Anush wore the clown nose to symbolize that, to her, this trial was a farce.

After the suppression of anti-war protests, people opposed to the war and repression shifted their activism to the courts.Dozens of St. Petersburg residents started attending Sasha's hearings, with Anna, an IT specialist unfamiliar with the defendant, explaining, “to show that people care.”

People who came to Sasha Skochilenko’s trial on her birthday left balloons at the courtroom door as they departed, bringing them to court to lift Sasha’s spirits.

A year after Sasha's arrest, her girlfriend Sonya finally managed to secure a visit — their first chance to speak privately. For an entire year, the judge did not allow them to meet in private. Throughout the trial, they had more than ten such visits. At the same time, Sonya was undergoing cancer treatment.

Lawyer Yuri Novolodsky walks through the court corridor to the hearing for Sasha Skochilenko, navigating through the supporters who came to court. At the end of 2022, star lawyer Yuri Novolodsky joined Sasha Skochilenko's case. Novolodsky has been known in St. Petersburg since the 1990s: he worked in the government of Anatoly Sobchak alongside Vladimir Putin, defended billionaire Mikhail Mirilashvili and criminal authority Vladimir Kulibaba in court. This disrupted the usual course of court proceedings: Novolodsky eloquently argued with prosecutor Alexander Gladychev and demanded the recusal of Judge Oksana Demyashova.

Sonya Subbotina (center), Sasha Skochilenko’s partner, sits in the courtroom awaiting the start of the hearing. From day one, Sonya attended every single one of Sasha’s hearings for over a year. Until they were granted visitation, these hearings were their only chance to see each other, though they were unable even to touch.

Court bailiffs prohibit filming in the courtroom. The atmosphere is unfriendly. Autumn 2023 turned into a torment. Judge Demyashova scheduled hearings almost daily. Sasha was brought to court at 7 a.m.—she spent the entire day in the cage, and the judge prohibited breaks, even for Sasha to drink water or take her medication.

During one of the hearings, Skocilenko was brought to court with a heart monitor. The judge ruled that the need to replace the batteries in the device was not a sufficient reason to postpone the hearing. The pace also took a toll on 72-year-old Novolodsky's health: he ended up in the hospital. During one hearing, he requested to speak while seated—Demyasheva refused.

Portraits of Sasha Skocilenko taken over the course of her 19 months in detention. Throughout these difficult months, Sasha consistently smiled and remained in good spirits.

Judge Oksana Demyasheva turned the court hearings into torture in the fall of 2023, holding them nearly every day. Sasha was brought to court at 7 AM and spent the entire day behind bars. The judge denied breaks, even to allow Skocilenko to drink water or take her medication. On November 16, 2023, Sasha was sentenced—19 months after her arrest. Judge Oksana Demyasheva handed her a 7-year sentence in a general regime penal colony.

Sasha is seen crying as she says goodbye to her girlfriend Sonia after the sentence of 7 years in prison is announced. Sasha's sentence was handed down on November 16, 2023—19 months after her arrest. In her final statement, Sasha said:"How weak is the faith of our prosecutor in our state and society if he believes that our statehood and public safety can be threatened by five small pieces of paper?"

Sasha's girlfriend, Sonia Subbotina, hides from the cameras, crying after leaving the courtroom where her partner was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Sasha Skochilenko is led away in handcuffs from the courtroom after being sentenced to 7 years in prison. Sasha Skochilenko was released as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia, the USA, Germany, and Belarus on August 1, 2024. Two years and three months had passed since her arrest on April 11, 2022. She finally reunited with her girlfriend Sonia and her family.

A view of the courthouse where Sasha Skochilenko’s trial took place, with halls that emptied for nearly two years of people who came to show solidarity and support for Sasha, expressing their civic stance in a country where people are imprisoned for words.