Who is Olesya Krivtsova? 19-year-old on Russian terror list for pro-Ukraine post, sports anti-Putin tatoo

Olesya Krivtsova is a 19-year-old from Russia’s Arkhangelsk region, who was added to the list of terrorists and extremists, which also includes ISIS, al Qaeda, and the Taliban, for posting an Instagram story about the explosion on the Crimean bridge and criticizing Russia for invading Ukraine.

Krivtsova has been put under house arrest after she was charged over social media posts that allegedly discredit the Russian army. She also wears a tracking bracelet on her ankle that reports to the authorities about her every activity. Alexei Kichin, Krivtsova’s lawyer, said that the teenager could face up to three years in prison for discrediting the Russian army and up to seven years if it’s proven that her actions justified terrorism.

Who is Olesya Krivtsova?

Olesya Krivtsova is a student at Northern (Arctic) Federal University in the northwestern city of Arkhangelsk. She sports an anti-Putin tattoo on one ankle.

She is currently staying at her her mother’s apartment in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, and is banned from going online and using other forms of communication. Olesya’s mother, Natalya Krivtsova, says that her daughter is being in effect “publicly flogged” for not keeping her views to herself and that the government is trying to make a public spectacle out of her as a form of warning to the masses.

“We live in the Arkhangelsk region and this is a vast region but too remote from the center. There are no more protests in Arkhangelsk, so they are trying to strangle everything that is left at its early stage,” Natalya Krivtsova told CNN.

Olesya has had other instances of angering the authorities for publicly airing her views. She faced administrative charges for discrediting the Russian army last May by distributing anti-war posters. Last October, however, authorities decided to take strict action against her after she accused the Russian army on social media. A repeat offense under the same article turns into a criminal case.

“She has a heightened sense of justice, which makes her life hard. The inability to remain silent is now a major sin in the Russian Federation,” her mother told CNN.

She said that on December 26 police burst into an apartment where her daughter was living with her husband Ilya. They then forced the young people to lie face down on the ground and also allegedly threatened them with a sledgehammer.