The director of a museum in Estonia convicted in absentia by a Moscow court

Located along the Narva River in Estonia, the Narva Museum has twice displayed on its facade a bloodstained banner with the inscription “Putin, war criminal”, visible from the Russian bank opposite and the city ​​of Ivangorod. This explains the conviction in absentia of Maria Smorževskihh-Smirnova, the director of the museum, by the Basmanny court in Moscow, reports the Russian media Media zonespecifying that the hearing was held in mid-January.

These criminal proceedings were initiated against Maria Smorževskihh-Smirnova due to “spreading false information about the Russian army”. Details regarding the allegations are not known and no information is available on other people allegedly involved, it said. Media zone.

Contacted by The Arts JournalMaria Smorževskihh-Smirnova explains that information concerning her conviction in absentia was reported to her by various media: “Unfortunately, I do not have any information other than what has been made public. It is impossible for me to view documents from the Russian judicial system from Estonia and, of course, no documents from Russia have been sent to me in Estonia. »

Facade of the Narva Museum with the poster “Putin war criminal”.

© Ilja Smirnov / Postimees

Appearing on the list of people wanted by the Russian Interior Ministry since the summer of 2024, the director commented on her conviction to the Delphi newspaper. “It is a compliment and a great honor for me to be among those who irritate the dictatorial regime to the point of being condemned in absentia. This means we are doing the right thing – expressing our views and calling a dictator a dictator and a war criminal a war criminal. »

The banner denouncing Vladimir Putin was placed by the management and the Propastop association in 2023 and 2024 in response to the patriotic events organized in Ivangorod to mark Victory Day, May 9, 1945. The Russian border guards then requested its withdrawal, but the museum refused.

Maria Smorževskihh-Smirnova indicated that the banner denouncing Putin will be displayed again on the facade of the museum on May 9.

The Narva Museum, founded in the 19th century, is housed in one of the oldest castles in Estonia. It was built in 1370 by the Danes, who then ruled the country; its construction continued over the following centuries. The museum intends to retrace this history, that of Narva from the 13th to the 20th century. In 1991, the museum opened a space to exhibit works by Estonian and foreign artists. In 2024, the museum made headlines with an exhibition commemorating the bombing of the city of Narva in 1944, in which Soviet forces, not the Germans, were held responsible for the city’s destruction.

Maria Smorževskihh-Smirnova was appointed head of the Narva Museum in early 2021. She holds a doctorate in cultural studies from Tallinn University and a master’s degree in Russian philology from the university from Tartu. Previously, she worked at the Estonian Art Museum and the Tallinn City Museum, and was head of the Russian Museum in Tallinn.

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