Alexey Moskalev receives first letter from daughter Masha since he was sentenced to prison for ‘discrediting’ Russian army

Alexey Moskalev, who was sentenced to two years in prison earlier this year for “discrediting” the Russian army, told journalists that he has received his first letter from his daughter, Masha, since he was sentenced on March 28 and then arrested several days later in Minsk. Russian independent Telegram channels and media outlets published selections from the letter, which includes a poem Masha Moskaleva composed for her father.

Masha asked her father not to give up, writing “Dad, don’t give up, this isn’t the end of the world, we’ll see each other soon.” She wrote that when the court rejected an appeal of Moskalev’s sentence, she wanted to give up “but the Lord God gave me strength,” which she hoped to pass on to her father through her letter.

Moskalev said that he didn’t want to see his daughter at the moment, worrying that he would appear “unsightly” and upset her. He said his daughter is currently staying at a children’s camp and is doing well. “As to whether Masha is better off in a shelter or with her mom, you’d have to ask Masha herself, but I think, of course, it’s better to be out of a shelter,” Moskalev wrote to journalists. 

Moskalev was raising his daughter alone, but after his arrest she was placed in a children’s shelter. Masha’s mother later took custody of the girl.