Artemy Ostanin is a political prisoner
A stand-up comedian faces up to six years’ imprisonment for making a joke about a person with a disability
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Artemy Ostanin a political prisoner. Ostanin is being prosecuted on a criminal charge of incitement of hatred or hostility involving a threat of violence, following a joke about a man without legs. Ostanin’s criminal prosecution violates his rights to freedom of expression and fair trial. We demand his immediate release and that all criminal charges against him be dropped. We also demand that allegations he was subjected to degrading treatment and torture be investigated.
What are the charges against Artemy Ostanin?
In February 2025, stand-up comedian Artemy Ostanin took part in the show Stand-up in 60 Seconds, performing a monologue about a man without legs who ran into him on a skateboard in the Moscow metro. Ostanin referred to the skateboard as a ‘stump-mobile’ and suggested that the man may have lost his legs after stepping on a mine. He also wished the man ‘wouldn’t go so fast’ and called him a ‘dumbass.’
After a video of the monologue appeared online, a report was filed against Ostanin accusing him of insulting a participant in the ‘Special Military Operation.’ The comedian later explained that his monologue referred to beggars in the metro, not participants in the war against Ukraine.
On 15 March, it was reported that a criminal case had been opened on a charge of ‘public incitement of hostility or hatred and degrading human dignity committed with violence or the threat of violence’ (Article 282, Part 2, of the Russian Criminal Code).
On 18 March 2025, Belarusian security officers detained Ostanin as he was about to fly out of Minsk. He was forced to apologise on camera, his dreadlocks were forcibly cut off, and he was photographed with a meat grinder hanging around his neck – a reference to another monologue in which Ostanin joked about a meat grinder given as a gift to the widow of a Russian soldier. Ostanin’s legal representative reported that during his extradition to Russia, officers beat him in a forest and tortured him with a taser.
On 19 March, a Moscow court remanded Artemy Ostanin in custody.
Why do we consider Artemy Ostanin a political prisoner?
Pro-government bloggers were the first to accuse Ostanin of inciting hatred against participants in the ‘Special Military Operation’ against Ukraine, and this became the initial basis for criminal proceedings. Later, the investigative authorities were obliged to acknowledge that Ostanin had not mentioned either the war or its participants. The current charge against him is for ‘inciting hatred towards people with disabilities.’ However, no reference to this ‘social group’ can be found in the monologue itself.
It is absurd to claim that Ostanin either used or threatened to use violence. Without this element, his actions could only be classified as an administrative offence, punishable by a maximum of 15 days’ jail.
Ostanin’s monologue may be considered unfunny or in poor taste, but there are no grounds for a criminal prosecution, still less for imprisonment. The comedian’s actions pose no threat to the public.
A detailed description of Artemy Ostanin’s case and of our position is available on our website.
Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply the ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project agrees with, or approves, their views, statements, or actions.
How can you help?
You can write to Artemy Ostanin at the following address:
RU: 109382, г. Москва, ул. Верхние поля, д. 57, ФКУ СИЗО-7 ГУФСИН России по г. Москве, Останину Артемию Романовичу 1996 г. р.
EN: Artemy Romanovich Ostanin (born 1996), Remand Prison No. 7, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Moscow, 57 Verkhnie Polya Street, Moscow, 109382, Russia.
You can also send an email using F-Pismo (for payment with Russian bank cards), PrisonMail (for payment with other bank cards), ZT (for payment with all bank cards), OVD-Info and Memorial-France (free of charge).
Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the intended recipient.
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
