Belgorod educator Alexander Shramkov, known for hanging a poster about President Putin on a lamppost, has left Russia under the threat of persecution. The news was reported by the Telegram channel "Pepel" on September 28.
Law enforcement authorities had previously initiated legal proceedings against Alexander Shramkov, a physics and mathematics teacher, for displaying a poster that read "Putin is a murderer." The teacher chose to leave Russia, as he faced the possibility of a criminal case for repeatedly discrediting the army. In April 2022, Shramkov was fined for an anti-war poster he had placed on a building's facade within his neighborhood, as reported by the Telegram channel “Pepel.”
The poster appeared in Belgorod on September 21, with a second placard found in the Novooskolomsk city district.
Fines for expressions critical of President Putin are not uncommon. Konstantin Okunev in Perm was fined 617 thousand rubles ($6,383) for his social media posts critical of the president and the government. In March, politician Mikhail Abdalkin faced a 150-thousand-ruble ($1,552) fine for sharing a video where he humorously watched Vladimir Putin's address with noodles dangling from his ears. The police claimed that this act disparaged the armed forces.
