Russian authorities charge North Ossetian activist for telling Ossetians to ‘kill Putin’
Russian authorities have launched a criminal case against a North Ossetian human rights activist based in Kyiv for his criticism of Ossetians fighting in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Activist Vissarion Aseev has been placed under investigation for a post he made in March 2022, shortly after the full-scale invasion began.
‘What the hell are Ossetians doing dying in Ukraine? Stay home! If you want to kill, kill Putin!’ wrote Aseev, who previously served as a local MP in North Ossetia.
According to Russian independent news outlet ASTRA, Aseev — who is currently based in Ukraine — is being charged with public incitement to terrorist activities. If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
According to investigative materials, an expert evaluation concluded that Aseev’s post constituted a call for an attempt on the life of a public official in order to stop their activities or take revenge against them. The official in question is believed to be President Vladimir Putin.
‘It was expected. Representatives of law enforcement agencies came to my parents’ house several times, asking where I was and what I was,’ Aseev told OC Media.
Aseev, who was born in 1969 in Beslan, has had a long career as an activist in his home republic. In the early 2000s, he was elected to the Council of Representatives of the Pravoberezhny District in North Ossetia.
During the terrorist siege of School No 1 in Beslan on 1 September 2004, Aseev, acting as a volunteer, was wounded while attempting to help hostages. After the tragedy, he helped found the civic group Uchkom (The Teacher Committee), which assisted affected families and organised medical treatment for wounded children abroad. In September 2004, 10 children who were held hostage in the school were sent to Germany for treatment thanks to his efforts.
In early 2005, Aseev joined the blockade of the Baku–Rostov highway, organised by relatives of the victims of the Beslan attack, who were demanding a full and transparent investigation. He openly criticised both regional and federal authorities for their inaction and failure to accept responsibility for the massacre.
Aseev later became an activist with the United Civil Front and a supporter of liberal opposition movements. He participated in protests, including against the abolition of direct gubernatorial elections. In 2006, in an interview with the newspaper Kommersant, he harshly criticised then-Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov. The newspaper itself was fined for this interview after the authorities deemed it defamatory of Kadyrov’s honour and dignity.
According to Aseev, shortly afterwards, a chair fashioned to resemble an electric chair was delivered to his office — allegedly a ‘gift from Kadyrov’.
After 2014, Aseev moved to Ukraine, where he married Ukrainian citizen Olga Skrypnyk. As OC Media has learnt, together, they helped establish the Crimean Human Rights Group, with Skrypnyk serving as its chair. The organisation focuses on monitoring and defending the rights of people from Crimea, including Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar activists.
In May 2022, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office designated the Crimean Human Rights Group as an ‘undesirable organisation’.
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Aseev has continued his human rights work in Kyiv, regularly denouncing the Kremlin’s actions, the annexation, and Russia’s military involvement in the Donbas.
In 2023, Aseev was fined ₽45,000 ($570) for ‘discrediting the Russian army’ after another Facebook post in which he condemned the annexation of Crimea and voiced support for Ukrainian sovereignty.
Following reports of the recent criminal case, Aseev commented on social media: ‘You sit at home, raise your kids, mind your own business — and just like that, you’re a criminal’.
Elizaveta Chukharova
