Yekaterinburg Court Rules Mayakovsky's Century-Old Poem Discredits Russian Army
A court in Yekaterinburg recognized Vladimir Mayakovsky's poem «Down with It!», written in 1929, as "discrediting" the Russian army. This was reported by SOTAvision.
Dmitry Rykov
Verkh-Isetsky District Court judge Yekaterina Geiger fined Dmitry Rykov, a resident of Kirovgrad, 49,000 rubles. The reason was his anti-militarist picket, which he held on December 7. The man was found guilty under the article on "discrediting" the army.
During the protest, Rykov held a poster with a quote from Vladimir Mayakovsky's poem «Down with It!»:
«War is the wind of corpse stench.
War is a factory for making beggars.
A grave immeasurable in depth and breadth,
Hunger, dirt, typhus, and lice.»
Dmitry Rykov himself did not admit guilt. He explained that he was not speaking out against any specific war, but against war in general, and stated that he did not understand how such words could discredit an army.