A child’s drawing, a family driven into exile

Four years after an anti-war picture brought Russian authorities into her family’s life, Masha Moskalyova and her father are living in hiding in eastern France, still concerned about their safety.

CNN reports that the drawing remains among the few possessions connecting them to their former lives in Russia.

Melissa Bell reported that Masha was 12 when she drew a woman holding a Ukrainian flag and shielding a child from a Russian missile during an art lesson in 2022. Her school reported the picture to the authorities.

The resulting scrutiny extended to her father, Alexei Moskalyov, whose anti-war social media activity became the basis of a prosecution for “discrediting” Russia’s armed forces.

He was sentenced to two years in a penal colony in March 2023. Masha was separated from him and placed in institutional care before moving to live with her estranged mother.

The distinction matters: the drawing triggered the authorities’ attention, while her father’s criminal prosecution concerned social media posts.

After his release in October 2024, father and daughter fled to Armenia. They reached France in March this year.

Their relocation has brought physical distance from Russia, but, according to CNN’s latest account, has yet to remove their fear.

Sources: CNN, syndicated by ABC17 News, 19 October; Novaya Gazeta Europe, 30 March; The Moscow Times, 12 March.