17:43, 28 January 2026

A court has reduced the sentence of a Sochi teacher in a case involving a swastika display.

A court in Krasnodar reduced the sentence of 54-year-old teacher Irina Kostrova by two months. She was convicted of using a Nazi-era propaganda poster on social media. She will now serve one year and four months in a penal colony.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," in early August 2024, the Central District Court of Sochi fined Irina Kostrova 30,000 rubles under the article "discrediting the army." Several social media posts were the basis for the fine. On November 26, 2025, a court in Sochi sentenced 54-year-old history teacher Irina Kostrova to eighteen months in a penal colony for the repeated display of prohibited symbols.

In August 2023, Kostrova added a Nazi propaganda poster to her album. It depicts a soldier standing on a tank with the letter V and holding a flag with a swastika. The poster reads "Victoria." The teacher accompanied the image with a note explaining how it was used in Nazi propaganda. She refused to admit guilt.

54-year-old Chita resident Irina Kostrova's sentence was reduced to one year and four months in a penal colony on appeal, the human rights project "OVD-Info"* reported today, citing her lawyer, Maria Spasibukhova.

Irina Kostrova is still at large. She must travel independently to the facility where she will serve her sentence, the publication states.

According to the case file on the Krasnodar Regional Court website, the appeal was received by the court on December 24, 2025, and the hearing took place today.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that a court in Krasnodar fined animal rights activist Elena Nasedkina for discrediting the Russian armed forces. A Z-blogger and city council member filed a denunciation against Nasedkina, who has now threatened her with criminal prosecution.

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Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/420319