Russian Father and Daughter Flee to France After Anti-War Stance Provokes Crackdown

In the spring of 2022, a 12-year-old schoolgirl in western Russia became an unwitting symbol of dissent against the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. Maria Moskaleva, nicknamed Masha, drew an anti-war picture at her school. The act immediately set off a chain of repression: local authorities alerted the police, and Russia’s feared FSB descended on her school and home. Her father, who vocally supported her stance and opposed the war himself, was soon arrested and jailed for “discrediting” the Russian arm