Disturbing Tale of Evgeniya Mayboroda, Retired Russian Rebel's Unconventional Life
In the Rostov region, bordering Ukraine, 72-year-old Evgeniya Mayboroda was once celebrated for her unwavering support of Vladimir Putin and Russia's annexation of Crimea. However, her recent fate has taken a dramatic turn, as she now finds herself serving a five-and-a-half-year prison sentence for sharing "false information" and making "public appeals to commit extremist activities" on social media, charges that stemmed from her posts opposing Russia's war in Ukraine.
Born near the coal-mining town of Shakhty in 1951, Mayboroda met her husband Nikolai at the local technical institute. As mine workers, the Mayborodas occupied a privileged place in the communist hierarchy. The couple had a son, Sergei, in 1972. Tragedy struck the family when Sergei was killed in a car accident in 1997.
The collapse of the USSR in 1991 led to financial hardships for the Mayborodas, as the mine where Nikolai worked closed down in 2002. Nikolai passed away less than a decade later, leaving Evgeniya to face the challenges of the new era.
In 2017, Mayboroda discovered social media and began sharing posts praising Vladimir Putin. However, her support for the regime took a different turn when she found herself opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Investigators accused her of criticizing the Russian assault on Mariupol, where thousands of besieged Ukrainians died, and of supporting the Azov Brigade, a Ukrainian unit that gained hero status in Ukraine for its resistance during the siege of Mariupol in 2022.
The Azov Brigade, while containing some neo-Nazis, is not an ideology that Mayboroda supports. A source close to the case stated that she does not subscribe to such beliefs. Mayboroda expressed her opposition to the war on moral grounds, citing her Christian beliefs and the commandment "Thou shalt not kill."
Mayboroda was jailed and fined in February 2023 for her criticism of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on her VK account. Her prison conditions, as a Russian citizen, are reportedly better than those faced by many Ukrainian prisoners, and she is able to receive (censored) letters and occasional phone calls.
Despite her plight, Mayboroda's case has garnered attention from opposition media and NGOs, with the banned group Memorial recognizing her as a "political prisoner." Her story serves as a stark reminder of the growing repression in Russia, where even past supporters of the regime can fall victim to draconian laws enacted after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Mayboroda's case illustrates both the intensification of repression and the unpredictable nature of who becomes a target under Russia's current legal framework. Her transformation from a pro-Kremlin supporter to a political prisoner highlights the current climate in Russia, where the authorities increasingly use legal mechanisms to silence dissent—regardless of an individual’s past loyalty.
In the context of the General-News, Evgeniya Mayboroda's case, a former supporter of Vladimir Putin, represent a Human Rights controversy in Russia's Politics. Her arrest and prison sentence for criticizing Russia's war in Ukraine on social media escalated a conflict, as her past support for Putin contrasts with her current opposition. This incident underscores the expanding restrictions on free speech in Crime-and-Justice, where individuals like Mayboroda who previously showed loyalty to the regime can face repercussions for expressing dissenting views.
