Refuge from Russia: Russian poets convicted in the so-called “Mayakovsky case”

In this episode of Refuge from Russia, Tami and Praveen examine the case of Russian poets Artyom Kamardin, Egor Shtovba, and Nikolai Dayneko, whom Amnesty International has recognized as prisoners of conscience. Their alleged offense was reading anti-war poetry in public at the Vladimir Mayakovsky monument in Moscow in September 2022.The episode explains how peaceful expression was turned into a national security case under Russian laws on inciting hatred and public calls against state security. It also covers the harsh sentences imposed, allegations of torture and inhumane treatment, and Amnesty’s call to release the poets and overturn their convictions.This is a story about censorship, dissent, and the danger of criminalizing words.

Transcript

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Welcome to Refuge from Russia. I'm Tammy, and Praveen joined me with this podcast. Today we're looking at a case that says a lot about how Russia treats even the softest forms of dissent. Amnesty International has recognized three Russian poets, Artyom Kamardin, Egor Shtovba, and Nikolai Daineko, as prisoners of conscience. That means they were jailed not for violence, not for plotting anything dangerous, but for peaceful expression. In this case, their crime was reading anti-war poetry in public. If that sounds extreme, imagine someone in the US getting arrested for reading an anti-war poem at a park bench open mic, and then ending up in prison for years. That's the level of intimidation we're talking about. The readings happened in September 2022 at the Vladimir Mayakovsky Monument in Moscow. Mayakovsky was a famous Soviet-era poet, so the location itself carried symbolic weight. A few days later, the poets were taken into custody and accused under Russian laws about inciting hatred and later even public calls against state security. In plain English, the state turned poetry into a national security threat. Amnesty's Marie Struthers put it bluntly. A public reading of poetry cannot threaten national security. The poems did not call for violence or hatred. They spoke against violence and against Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. In other words, these men used words, and the government responded with prisons. Artyom Karmardin's case is especially disturbing. He reported being tortured during his arrest and search, including sexualized violence. But Amnesty says all three have been held in inhumane and degrading conditions, and that those allegations must be investigated immediately and independently. That's not just a human rights issue. That's the kind of abuse that should alarm anyone who values basic civil liberties, and that the sentences are also severe. And even though the verdicts were later upheld, Amnesty is pressing for something simple and essential. Release them and overturn the convictions. For American listeners, this is a reminder that authoritarianism doesn't always start with tanks in the street. Sometimes it starts by punishing a microphone, a notebook, or a poem. It's about making people afraid to speak at all. That's the real significance of the Mayakovsky case. It's not just about three poets in Russia. It's about whether words can still be free when a government decides dissent itself is a crime. That's all for today's Refuge from Russia. I'm Tammy, and thanks for listening.