A court in Moscow sentenced 27-year-old bar employee Kseniya Belousova to three years and 25 days in a prison colony in a case over offending the feelings of believers. This was reported by Mediazona.
Belousova was initially given 200 hours of compulsory labor. That punishment was then combined with a previously imposed suspended sentence in a drug case, which she reportedly received in 2025. As a result, the court replaced the suspended sentence with actual imprisonment.
What triggered the case
The criminal case stemmed from a video Belousova posted on Easter. The clip showed a hookah with a bowl shaped like a kulich, a traditional Easter cake. Under the post, investigators said she wrote:
“Even Christ would have risen for this.”
Investigators concluded that by publishing it, she had demonstratively insulted the religious feelings of believers and sought to “draw public attention to her own professionalism as a hookah master.”
Belousova’s statement
“I myself am a believer, just like my family. I regularly attend church, and I value and respect everything connected with the church. My family, my mother, father, and brother, are participants in the special military operation, and I ask that their health condition be taken into account,” Belousova said in her final statement.
The criminal case against Belousova was opened in April after the video drew the attention of Z-blogger Vladislav Pozdnyakov and pro-government Telegram channels. She then deleted the post and recorded an apology video, but the case was still sent to court.