While war may benefit a few people with influence and power, but for the rest of the people, war is never a good thing.
People may have different opinions regarding wars. But most people should know that wars can cost lives, political tensions, and lots of blood and tears that can last for generations.
And this time, during the Russian's invasion to Ukraine, both sides are losing a substantial amount of resources.
One day, a 19-year-old Russian student, Olesya Krivtsova, wanted to complaint about what she saw during the war, that soon after the explosion on the Crimean Bridge in October, she posted an Instagram Story to criticize Russia's invasion to Ukraine.
She only wanted to spill her heart out, like other teens her age, who wish for her voice to be heard.
Fortunately, that happened. People now know her. But unfortunately, it happened in a bad way.
It all began when her fellow students at Northern Federal University, in the northern city of Arkhangelsk, took a screenshot of the Instagram Story.
Olesya's antiwar comments were then shared in a small chatroom on the Telegram messaging app.
It was only after this, that she was reported to the authorities.
Three months later, Russian officials saw that evidence was sufficient to add Olesya into their list of extremists, on par with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and even the Islamic State, charging her with discrediting the Russian army under laws that were only adopted in 2022 to stifle public criticism of the war.
Another way of saying that, the Russian teenager was arrested for terrorism charges after she made a social media post criticizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Because of this, they're allowed to use force to apprehend the young girl.
One day, in late December 2022, a group of officers banged on the door of her apartment.
"We were on the phone that morning. […] I heard those awful screams - 'Face down!' - and that was it. From that day, a new life began for us," Olesya's mother, Natalya Krivtsova, recalled in an interview.
At the time, one of the officers held a sledgehammer, which was used to broke down the door. This was intimidating for Olesya and everyone in the apartment.
Later, on the way to the station, one of the officers who spoke to Olesya, said that the sledgehammer was a "hello from Wagner," the mercenary group led by Kremlin-connected business executive Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who sent his private army to Ukraine to aid the Russian military.
It's worth noting here, that a sledgehammer has become a symbol of Wagner after a Telegram channel affiliated with the group released a video that appeared to show the execution of Yevgeny Nuzhin, a 55-year-old convict who was released from prison to fight in Ukraine.
Nuzhin was killed with a sledgehammer to the head for abandoning the mercenary group.
Read: Hundreds Of Russian Mercenary Videos Reached A Combined 1 Billion Views On TikTok, Research Found
Olesya was detained twice.
During Olesya's first arrest, a judge at the Primorsky regional court ruled to limit her communications, but ruled against restricting her movements, despite strong requests from the prosecution.
Days after she was released, Olesya was again arrested, after she was officially placed on a wanted list.
According to her mother, the investigators accused Olesya of buying tickets "toward Russian borders" and hence violating the imposed restrictions. The investigators accused this even though her passport was damaged a few weeks earlier, making it invalid for travel under Russian regulations.
Olesya's family believe that the officers were plainly unhappy with the court's initially decision, that they're making things up, just to keep Olesya under custody.
Olesya’s mother said that the government is trying to give a warning to the public, with her daughter being in effect "publicly flogged" for not keeping her thoughts to herself.
"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 said.
Olesya was later placed under house arrest, using tracking bracelet attached to her ankle, as she waits trial on charges that could bring a prison sentence of up to 10 years for her online comments criticizing the war.
The case against Olesya is allegedly trialed to instill fear to others who oppose the invasion.
Following Olesya's arrest, local television which caught the case, has turned it into a propaganda material.
One aired talk, for example, showed an talk show episode about Olesya, in which Alexander Novikov, the local head of the Communist Party, twice called her "an idiot," and suggested sending her to the frontline at Donbas region of eastern Ukraine so that she "looks into the eyes" of soldiers who are fighting in Ukraine, and visit the graves of the soldiers who died in action.
Internet censorship in the Russian Federation is enforced on the basis of several laws and through several mechanisms.
It was since 2012, that the Russian government operates a centralized internet blacklist, maintained by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor).
Its original goal was to only track URLs, domain names and IP addresses, in order to contain the spread of materials advocating drug abuse and drug production, descriptions of suicide methods, and containing child pornography. But later on, Russia's internet censorship was expanded to also block and seek materials that are classified as extremist.
And this case of Olesya, a young student who lives in a remote city near the Arctic Circle, shows how Russia is also using its internet censorship to curb free speech, and anyone who opposes the country.
Internet censorship and its laws target not just organized political opposition movements, which have largely been dismantled, but also seemingly harmless individuals.
It's worth noting though, that Olesya is said to have made several posts that were considered offensive. The authorities consider this a repeat offense.
Before, Olesya put up antiwar posters on the town square, and was fined $450 for publicly "discrediting the Russian armed forces."
A repeat offense typically leads to a criminal investigation and jail time.
What's more, Olesya also has a tattoo against President Vladimir Putin on her ankle. This also risks her a 10 year jail time.
Because Olesya is considered an equivalent to the likes of the Taliban and other extremists, the young woman is banned from going online or talking on the phone. Her bank accounts are also blocked, and that she is prohibited from spending more than $145 a month on basic needs.
Olesya was born in Belgorod, a city near the Russian-Ukrainian border.
She visited the city because her extended family members live there. The thing is, Russia's invasion has made the city one of the key staging grounds for the war. This is giving the city that war-zone atmosphere she hates.
"On February 24, I was terrified," Olesya said, adding that she is a pacifist. "There was a feeling that I was in some kind of a movie, watching it from the side."
"I've always thought that this is like with death — you don't think it will happen to you," she said. "So when writing these posts or showing something to anyone, I did not think I would be tried for that."
The invasion "is a tragedy for her, our whole family, our friends," Olesya's mother said.
"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," she added.
And about the people who allegedly reported Olesya, were said to be Roman Guseinov and Vladimir Sergeev.
The two have been named as witnesses in the case, and they did what they did because they were unhappy with Olesya's antiwar content on social media, including her viral post about how mobilized Russian soldiers can defect and be captured by Ukrainians to avoid fighting.
In response to this case, both Guseinov and Sergeev have closed their social media accounts.
Further reading: Russia 'Sexualizes Ukraine War' By Creating Online Recruitment Video With Attractive Young Women
