You Raised A 'Freak,' 'Murderer': Russian Woman Arrested For Leaving Note On Putin's Parents' Grave

A 60-year-old woman has been placed under house arrest for leaving a note on the grave of Russian president Vladimir Putin's parents, calling their son a "freak" and a "murderer," and asking them to "take him."

According to a report in Mediazona, the note that St. Petersburg resident Irina Tsybaneva left at Putin's parents' grave, Maria Putina and Vladimir Putin senior, on Oct. 6, the eve of their son's 70th birthday read, "Parents of a maniac, take him to your place, he causes so much pain and trouble, the whole world is praying for his death [illegible]. Death to Putin, you raised a freak and a murderer."

Based on evidence from the cemetery's multiple surveillance cameras, the police reached Tsybaneva's apartment on Monday and took her into custody. Following the detention, although the woman confessed to writing the note, authorities conducted a slew of tests to confirm that it was indeed she who wrote it.

As per the report, a DNA test was carried out that showed traces of her skin on the paper on which the note was written, a handwriting expert confirmed the writing was hers while a linguistic examination concluded that the note contained "a negative assessment of Russian president Vladimir Putin."

Asked to explain her action, Tsybaneva told the court, "I was just watching a TV broadcast, which was very serious, and there was some news that made me... I realized that everything is very frightening, everything is very sad, and many people have been killed."

Calling her action a "brazen crime," the prosecutor's office asked cops to take Tsybaneva into custody. Justifying the arrest, the prosecutor said Tsybaneva "committed a crime whose danger to the public lies in insulting the memory of the dead and the feelings of the living toward the dead."

The court has now sentenced Tsybaneva to house arrest until Nov. 8, forbidding her from using the internet, phone, or mail.

Reacting to the sentence, the woman's son Maxim Tsybanev told Mediazona "in the context of the actions she took it's too harsh, but, well, in the context of the current situation in this country it's really not that bad."

Reports, however, say it is unclear how the woman got access to Putin's parents' grave in the Serafimovskoye Cemetery.

As ordinary Russians in desperation find unique ways to express their disgust toward their president and the nation's ongoing war in Ukraine, security has been tightened at the cemetery following a similar incident reported late last month. Members of Russia's Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAR) group also left a small note model on a grade school notebook that read, "Dear parents! Your son is behaving disgracefully! He skips history classes, fights with classmates, threatens to blow up the whole school! Take action!"

Following his decision to invade Ukraine, the Russian President has been facing sporadic protests in several cities of the country that are immediately being quelled by the authorities.

Soon after Russians invaded Ukraine, authorities detained more than 4,300 people as thousands of protesters chanted "No to war!" and "Shame on you!" There have been similar protests across the country after Putin ordered Russia's first military draft since the second world war.