１３歳少女の反戦の絵、静かに分断された町　ロシア

【エフレモフ（ロシア）ＡＦＰ＝時事】ロシアの首都モスクワから約３００キロ離れた人口３万７０００人の町エフレモフ。学校でウクライナ侵攻に批判的な絵を描いた１３歳の少女が父親と引き離され、施設に入れられたことに住民はショックを受けている。（写真はロシア・エフレモフで「Ｚ」の文字と「ナチズムなき世界のために」と書かれた看板）
　他の地域と同じくこの町の住民も、１年に及ぶ侵攻を愛国的に支持する姿勢を表面的には見せている。大通りにはウクライナでロシア軍が使っている「Ｚ」や「Ｖ」の文字と共に「ナチズムなき世界のために」と書かれた看板が立っている。
　しかし、住民の間では侵攻をめぐり静かに分断が起きている。
　きっかけは昨年、１３歳のマリア・モスカリョワさんが学校で描いた絵だった。教師から侵攻を支持する絵を描くよう言われたが、マリアさんが描いたのはロシア国旗の上を飛ぶミサイルが、ウクライナ国旗の隣に立つ女性と子どもに向かっているものだった。「戦争反対」「ウクライナに栄光あれ」という言葉も添えられていた。
　校長はすぐに警察に通報し、父親のアレクセイ・モスカリョフさん（５４）がソーシャルメディアに侵攻を批判する投稿をしているのを見つけたと告げた。
　町議会のオリガ・ポドルスカヤ議員によると、モスカリョフさんは３月１日から自宅軟禁下に置かれている。マリアさんは孤児院に送られ、父親と連絡を取ることを禁じられている。母親は２人と疎遠になっている。
　検察は２７日、軍の「信用を失墜させた」罪でモスカリョフさんに懲役２年を求刑した。
　トゥーラの閑静な町での事件は全国的に注目され、マリアさんの解放を求めるオンライン署名も行われた。
　ＡＦＰはエフレモフの通りで住民に話を聞いたが、マリアさんの件だけではなく、ウクライナ侵攻についても意見をおおっぴらに語る人はごくわずかだった。
　「子どもと父親を引き離すなんて本当にひどい。彼女は自分の考えを表現しただけなのに」と、学生のアレクサンドラさんは話した。
　また、ある年金受給者の女性は、昨年のウクライナ侵攻開始以来、生活が変わったと語った。「誰も責めていない。両国とも犠牲が出ている。一刻も早く終わってほしい」
　中心部の広場では、赤い腕章を着けた高齢女性２人がベンチに腰掛けていた。住民が組織した自警団の一員で、不審な行為を見掛けたら通報するのだという。
　「攻撃の危険があると言われている。秩序を保たなければならない」と、女性の１人は説明した。
　アレクサンドル・サリコフさん（６６）は平和を望んでいる。しかし、ウクライナに存在するロシアの領土を解放しなければならないと訴える。
　西側諸国による対ロシア制裁で自己破産したドミトリさん（５０）はこう言った。「将来どうなるかだって？ 治安当局が権力を握っていて、私たちは核戦争の瀬戸際にいる」
　ポドルスカヤ議員は、住民は葛藤していると話す。「みんな鬱屈（うっくつ）している。何が起こっているのか分かっていない。でも、抗議活動をするわけにはいかない。住宅ローンがあって、子どもがいて、首になるのが怖いから」 【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/03/28-18:50）

In the Russian town of Yefremov, residents say they are shocked by the case of a father separated from his 13-year-old daughter because of her drawing criticising Moscow's offensive.
Located around 300 kilometres (186 miles) from the Russian capital, the town of 37,000 people has all the outward signs of patriotic support for the year-long campaign seen across the country.
For A World Without Nazism reads a billboard on the main street -- alongside the letters Z and V used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
But its inhabitants are quietly divided over the fighting and have been shaken in recent weeks by a case that has become a testament to the repression of any criticism of the offensive.
It all began last year when 13-year-old Maria Moskalyova made a drawing at school showing missiles next to a Russian flag heading towards a woman and child standing by a Ukrainian flag.
Her headmistress immediately contacted the police, who said they found comments criticising the offensive on the social media profiles of the girl's father, 54-year-old Alexei Moskalyov.
Moskalyov is due to go on trial on Monday on a charge of discrediting Russia's armed forces which carries a maximum sentence of up to three years in prison under a law adopted last year.
Moskalyov is also at risk of losing parental rights in a separate trial set to begin on April 6, according to his lawyer Vladimir Bilyenko.
Since March 1, Moskalyov has been under house arrest while his daughter has been taken to an orphanage and forbidden from calling her father, according to town councillor Olga Podolskaya.
The mother is estranged from the family.
The case in this otherwise placid town in Russia's Tula region has garnered national attention and led to an online petition calling for the child to be returned to her father.
Even Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner paramilitary force spearheading Russia's offensive, has voiced support for Maria and criticised local authorities for their actions.
- 'I want this to be over' -
In the streets of Yefremov, few inhabitants were prepared to speak openly about the case -- or about their views on the campaign in Ukraine.
Separating a father from his daughter is horrible. She just expressed a point of view, said Alexandra, a student.
A pensioner who declined to give her name said her life had changed since February 24, 2022 -- the day Russian troops crossed into Ukraine.
I'm not accusing anyone. I see victims on both sides. I want this to be over as soon as possible, she said.
At the local cemetery, several fresh graves of soldiers killed in what Russia calls its special military operation could be seen.
The offensive has felt even closer to home in the past month with three Ukrainian drones reported to have struck in the region.
These developments have increased concern in a small town where everyone knows each other.
In the central square, two elderly women with red arm bands said they were part of a neighbourhood watch initiative set up by residents to report any suspicious activity.
They told us there is a risk of an attack and we have to keep order, said one of the women, who were sitting on a bench.
- 'They are depressed' -
Alexander Salikhov, a 66-year-old retired engineer, said he wanted peace but added that we have to free Russian lands in Ukraine.
Dmitry, a 50-year-old businessman, said he had gone bankrupt because of Western sanctions which have caused major disruption in supply chains.
What does the future hold? The power is in the hands of the security services and we are on the brink of nuclear war, he said.
Podolskaya said residents were conflicted.
They are depressed. They do not understand what is happening. But they cannot take to the streets. They are afraid of getting sacked -- they have mortgages and children, she said.
Marianna, a pregnant 31-year-old, said she was more optimistic although she said she was worried about her husband getting mobilised.
We hope it will end and our son will be born in a peaceful world and he will not have to fear military action, she said, revealing that the couple plan to call him Bogdan -- a popular Ukrainian name.