Russian activist to stand trial

Alexandra (Sasha) Skochilenko, an artist and musician from St. Petersburg, faces up to 10 years in prison for replacing price tags in a supermarket with anti-war messages. In late October 2022, the court left Sasha in custody until April 10, 2023 despite her state of health. The next hearing is scheduled for December 15, 2022.

“Whatever my prosecutors try to do to me, however they attempt to drag me through the mud, humiliate me, put me into the most inhuman conditions, I will only take the brightest, most incredible and beautiful things from this experience – that is what the essence of being an artist is,” she wrote in a letter in April 2022.

This year, Sasha has been named by the BBC among the 100 most influential and inspiring women in the world, along with Russian singer Alla Pugacheva and journalist Taisia Bekbulatova. The BBC 100 Women list of inspiring and influential women for 2022 reflects the role of women at the heart of conflict around the world this year, including the female faces of conflict and resistance in Ukraine and Russia, the BBC said.