Child's Anti-War Drawing Forces Russian Family to Flee, Four Years Later They Remain in Hiding

Masha Moskalyova, now 16, has spent a significant portion of her young life either in danger or on the move due to a drawing she created at the age of 12. Four years after this incident, she and her father are living in concealment in a small village in eastern France, constantly concerned about their safety. The drawing, a poignant reminder of their past life in Russia, is one of the few possessions they managed to keep. "Even though it’s a child’s drawing and seems so simple, who could have expected it to have such consequences?" Masha reflected, examining the artwork.

The drawing, rendered in colored pencil, depicts a mother shielding her child from falling bombs originating from Russia. It features a Ukrainian flag with the inscription "Glory to Ukraine," and a nearby Russian flag bearing the message "No Putin, no war." Masha created this piece just weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Her teacher in Yefremov, a town located approximately 300 kilometers (185 miles) south of Moscow and roughly halfway to the Ukrainian border, had instructed the class to produce artwork in support of Russian troops. While most of her classmates drew tanks or the pro-war symbol 'Z', Masha chose a different path. "I drew the situation as I actually saw it, what I believed to be the truth," she explained. "After the lesson, one of my classmates, who had seen the drawing, came up to me. Perhaps she was the one who reported it, leading to everything that followed. In any case, the drawing ended up in the hands of the police. And that was when all our problems began."

Shortly thereafter, her father, Alexey Moskalyov, was accused of "discrediting the Russian military" and subsequently sentenced to two years in a penal colony. Masha, who was being raised by him as a single parent, was placed in an orphanage. Following his release, the father and daughter fled Russia, journeying through Armenia before arriving in France earlier this year, where they were granted temporary visas. Masha has since been reunited with a dog she received at the orphanage, which has now arrived from Armenia, a development that brought her joy. Despite this, their isolation is palpable, with few remnants of their former lives and only each other for companionship. Alexey's health has been affected by his time in prison, and Masha is now attending school in a language she does not yet speak. Both harbor fears for their security. However, Alexey expressed pride in his daughter, stating, "Everything I’ve lost, everything I had in Russia, is compensated for by the fact that we can now speak freely and tell the truth. By the fact that we are now in a country where people are not persecuted for their words or their opinions."

Masha remains committed to using her voice. Beyond her schooling, she actively engages audiences within and outside Russia via YouTube and social media. Her criticisms now extend to international political figures, including a recent comment on US President Donald Trump's handshake with his Russian counterpart. "I want to say that what Trump is doing is terrible," she told CNN. "The fact that the president of a free country shakes hands with a murderer," she added, holding Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for the war's casualties. "The fact that you could say he is being controlled by him is another matter altogether."

The prospect of returning to Russia remains distant. "I would return to Russia with enormous joy," Masha stated. "But when will this regime change? I don’t know. How many decades will it take? How many decades before Russia becomes a democratic and free country?" It is remarkable that a single child's drawing could provoke such a strong reaction from Russian authorities, yet Masha understands the underlying principle. Authoritarian regimes, by their nature, cannot tolerate any form of dissent, regardless of its origin. "Here was a child who spoke the truth, who wasn’t afraid," she said. "And if that child isn’t alone, if there are many children like her, if it’s not just one teenager but a thousand teenagers, not just one adult but a million, then that is what will change Russia for the better."

The past four years have visibly impacted Masha, who exhibits a maturity and gravity beyond her 16 years. Perhaps most surprisingly, despite her experiences—being sent to an orphanage, her father's imprisonment, and their subsequent flight—she still possesses the drawing. She discovered it on a shelf among her childhood notebooks as they prepared to leave their home. "It hadn’t been confiscated," she recalled. "They hadn’t found it or paid any attention to it. Perhaps because the police hadn’t thought to search through a child’s belongings." Thus, one of Masha’s few remaining links to her former life is the very drawing that irrevocably altered its course.