The St. Petersburg State Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee confirmed the initiation of a case against the author of “Masyanya” Kuvaev

The Main Investigation Department (GID) of the Investigative Committee for St. Petersburg confirmed to TASS the initiation of a criminal case on public calls for activities directed against the security of the state (Article 280.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) against the creator of the animated series “Masyanya” Oleg Kuvaev. Earlier today, October 18, information about the initiation of the case appeared in the Telegram channel “Mash on the Moika”, as well as from the publication “Fontanka”. Oleg Kuvaev himself saidthat he was not informed about the case, which means it is “too early to yell about it.”

The maximum punishment under this article is imprisonment for a term of five to seven years with a fine of 500 thousand to 2.5 million rubles. According to the Mash on the Moika channel, the reason for initiating a criminal case was a video of an animator published on YouTube. As the project notes, in the video the main character calls on Russian soldiers to surrender using a website created with the support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

In March 2022, Roskomnadzor blocked the Mult.ru website, where the Masyanya episodes were posted. The Prosecutor General’s Office argued that the site provides unreliable socially significant information. Oleg Kuvaev has been living in Israel since 2006.