Russian Teacher Who Told Students Not To 'Wish Death' On Ukrainians Prosecuted

A Russian teacher who told students not to ‘wish death’ on Ukrainians has been prosecuted.

Yelena Bagaeva, who teaches English in the Russian republic of Buryatia, Siberia, was charged with ‘discrediting the Russian Armed Forces’ and was subsequently fined 40,000 rubles (£524).

Yelena revealed to an independent online magazine, People of Baikal, that one of her students recorded the audio to an almost 50-minute class discussion on the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

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The next day, the student’s mother issued a complaint to the school, stating the discussion was ‘anti-Russian propaganda’ and filed a police report with an edited audio file which was now approximately eight minutes long. 

"Everything is glued together, re-glued in such a way as to discredit me as much as possible," Yelena said of the file. 

The English teacher then explained how her stance was not based on anti-Russian opinion, but rather on the hope for peace.

"I tried to convey that any war is bad, that you can't wish death on Ukrainians and hate them, they are people like us," she told the publication. 

Yelena was tried in early May following the police report and was unable to prove to the court that she had the right to educate her students at school. She was considered guilty of ‘political agitation’ and was fined. 

Her prosecution comes as Russia has launched a wider clampdown on comments that could be interpreted as criticism of the state or as part of the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine.

The charge of ‘discrediting the Russian Armed Forces’, which the teacher was previously hit with, was put in place in February shortly following the attack on Ukraine, according to reports.

Before the trial, the voice recording of the class debate was posted online, with Yelena explaining how she was subjected to cruel ‘bullying’ which was directed on her appearance in part.

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Meanwhile, others suggested beneath the audio file that they empathised with Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin for his decision to carry out executions whilst he was in power, according to Yelena. 

She told the magazine: "I reacted to bullying very painfully - no one has ever insulted me like that in my life.”

The teacher went on to explain that she has ‘accepted’ her punishment and now just wants ‘to be left alone.’ The magazine also reported that Yelena has appealed the court decision against her, but a date has yet to be set for the retrial.

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