The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has completed the investigation into the criminal case against the director of the Narva Museum in Estonia — Maria Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova, TASS reports, citing the press service of the department.
Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova is charged under two articles of the Russian Criminal Code — for rehabilitation of Nazism and for dissemination of the so-called "military fakes". According to the Russian authorities, she "created conditions and assisted in the placement" on posters on the walls of the castle that houses the museum, with images of President Vladimir Putin and inscriptions claiming that he committed war crimes.
The banners have appeared annually around May 9 in the period 2023-2025 and have provoked a strong reaction from Moscow.
In January, the Basmanny Court in Moscow ordered the detention in absentia of Smorzhevsky-Smirnova. She is now on the international wanted list.
The Narva Museum is located in a medieval castle in the Estonian city of Narva, right on the border with Russia. Across the Narva River from it is the Russian city of Ivangorod. Every year on May 9, Russian authorities organize celebrations and concerts that are often watched by Russian-speaking residents of Estonia.