St. Petersburg’s Kuibyshevsky District Court has ordered the arrest of activist Ariadna Litvinova, the city’s joint court press service announced earlier today. She was deported from Turkey on July 4.
Litvinova’s father, Valery Kryzhanovsky, who lives in Turkey, told the BBC Russian Service that his daughter was expelled from the country after she overstayed the visa-free travel period. She came to stay with her father in September 2025 after a criminal investigation was opened against her in Russia. In May, the two had a dispute and he called the police. He said he did not file a complaint against his daughter, but she was detained over migration violations. Litvinova spent about a month in a deportation center, and her father said he learned from news reports that she had been sent to Russia.
In Russia, Litvinova stands charged with the repeated “discrediting” of the army — a criminal offense that is used to prosecute citizens who engage in anti-war speech and criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to the Memorial human rights project, Litvinova marked the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by writing “Killers,” “Peace to Ukraine” and “Freedom for prisoners” on pro-war advertising banners near the General Staff Arch in St. Petersburg. Investigators estimated the damage at 135,536 rubles (just over $1,700 at current exchange rates). The next day, a court fined her 50,000 rubles ($650) under the administrative charge of “discrediting” the army, then ordered her arrest on charges of criminal vandalism.
