Alexey and Maria Moskalev received humanitarian visas to France in March 2026 and moved to Paris from Yerevan. Before that, they waited for over a year and a half for an invitation to Europe from Germany, but never received one due to the suspension of Germany's humanitarian aid program for Russians. A correspondent for 'Novaya Gazeta Europe' met with them in Paris, where the father and daughter, persecuted in Russia for a child's anti-war drawing and social media posts, are seeking asylum. Alexey and Maria Moskalev. Photo: Yulia Kaneva / 'Novaya Gazeta Europe'. It's noon in Paris. I am waiting for the Russian dissidents Alexey and Maria Moskalev at a coffee shop with an orange sign – they serve coffee in bright cups right from a window, with Parisian youth gathered in front of it. It's warm outside: the city dwellers have shed their puffer jackets and put on sunglasses. It's dirty around. Scattered napkins and energy drink cans lie in the corners. Homeless people on the boulevards have placed cups for donations, some are wrapped in blankets and sleeping. But the city's beauty seems undiminished. Bas-reliefs of animals and smiling women stare down at passers-by from beige buildings with neat balconies. Perhaps they once saw famous French writers, actors, singers, and even emperors. Locals, competing with the city, try to dress up: they wear expensive trench coats and wide-brimmed hats. They dress their dogs in sweaters and bright harnesses. The menus, scrawled by waiters in chalk on boards, offer beef steak for twenty-six euros ninety cents, duck shashlik, and skate wings for twenty-one ninety. For dessert, there's a chocolate bun, calissons traditional to the south of France, and a lemon tart. Round tables on black legs huddle together as if trying to hide from the winter Parisian winds. But there are none today. It's spring outside. Alexey and Masha are an hour late due to a previous interview and are looking around anxiously. They don't navigate the city well. For the past two days, journalists have been taking them around the neighborhood: shooting videos near the Louvre, taking photos in front of the Eiffel Tower. — I don't even know who I'm meeting. [Human rights activists and volunteers] will write to me about who I need to meet with, which publication it is. And that's it, then I forget who it is, — says Masha, who has taken over managing all interviews since moving to France. Many major Russian and European publications have written about Masha Moskaleva: in April 2022, as a 12-year-old sixth-grader, she drew a woman with a Ukrainian flag protecting a child from Russian missiles during an art class. The school principal considered the artwork anti-Russian and contacted the police. The main punishment fell on Alexey Moskalev – a former entrepreneur and single father who had repeatedly spoken out against the war in Ukraine on social media. He was fined for discrediting the army and later sentenced to two years in prison. Masha was sent to a shelter. Maria Moskaleva. Photo: Yulia Kaneva / 'Novaya Gazeta Europe'. Alexey is 57 years old. He is gray-haired, unbearably pale, and thin. He served almost two years in Russia and seems to continue doing what he's told, not having parted with the prison routine. He pays me no attention and looks for a place to hide from the city bustle. In his hands, he holds an unwieldy briefcase – it contains all the family's travel documents. Alexey is afraid to leave them at the hotel. Masha recently turned 16. She quickly relaxes and transforms from an organizer into a child. She has long hair, huge eyes, and a Southern Russian accent from her life in the Tula region. — [I like Paris] Very much! Really, very much. The places, houses, parks, everything! We were just in the park, there were parrots flying! The shops are not very different from those in Yerevan, for example, — says Masha, already experienced in foreign shopping. She doesn't miss Efremov – a town of 30,000 people 140 kilometers from Tula, where the family lived before emigrating and where Masha was persecuted by law enforcement and the administration. She only fondly remembers a friend with whom she used to 'walk around the city at night, ride bikes, and go to the river'. — We are in touch, but she's not the same person I remember. She's growing up, we don't have common interests. She has a different vibe, — Masha states and notes that she is now looking for new friends to spend time with in Paris and Strasbourg, where sponsors have rented an apartment for the family. Maria Moskaleva's drawing. I ask Masha to talk about the drawing that led her and her father to emigrate. — I've told it hundreds of times, — she resists, but continues. — We had an art class. The teacher came in and assigned a political theme, even though it's forbidden. She said: draw a picture in support of the Russian troops, in support of the war. Support the president. ' I drew this picture. After class, a classmate approached me, her father works in the police. She became interested in it, started asking questions… She's 12, but don't consider them children! They are not that young anymore. The classmate complained to the teacher, who complained to the principal, who went to the police. The cops came to the school two days later: they questioned Alexey in one office and in another, they tried to persuade Masha to join a youth movement and support President Vladimir Putin. Moskaleva refused. Father Despite it being a day off, Paris is bustling. A shiny fire truck roars past us, a tram rings its bell. The first round of municipal elections is taking place in Paris. Voters are heading to the parks with their children in the morning, sunbathing under the spring sun and listening to the chirping of sparrows. We follow their example and turn into a square. It has palm trees and a strange spruce with long branches and huge needles – as ChatGPT later explained to me, it's a Chilean Araucaria. Alexey immediately pulls out his phone and photographs Masha against the coniferous tree. The girl tries to resist but gives in. — He photographs everything! — Masha explains. — No, not everything, just what I like, — Alexey retorts. It's a bit quieter in the park. Children are sliding down a plastic slide. Pigeons walk underfoot. It smells of perfume and blooming apple trees. Alexey quickly sits on a bench and asks what I'm interested in hearing about. I ask him to tell me about the city of Efremov, where he was born and raised. Paris. Photo: Yulia Kaneva / 'Novaya Gazeta Europe'. Alexey Moskalev's youth was in the 80s. He didn't serve in the army – conscripts were sent to war in Afghanistan at that time, so 'his parents pulled strings' to help Alexey avoid service. — I wasn't going to kill people then, nor am I now, — he emphasizes. In the 90s, 'when they were surviving' and 'there was crime', he had a shop in Efremov: he sold groceries at first, then building materials. In the 2010s, the entrepreneur closed the shop. A poultry farm appeared in its place, where Moskalev raised incubation eggs. At the same time, the man had his long-awaited daughter, and with the help of the bird farm, he tried to instill in her a love for animals. — I had pheasants of different breeds, wild ducks, American turkeys, Kholmogory geese, decorative rabbits, chickens of 12 breeds. That is, a kind of family zoo for the soul. And Masha was growing up, she was interested. She helped me take care of the animals, — says Alexey. When law enforcement officers searched their apartment in December 2022, Alexey sold the birds for next to nothing, took his daughter, and moved to Uzlovaya – a city in the Tula region 100 kilometers from Efremov. „ I found unofficial work, hoping that they would forget about me and Masha. But law enforcement found the family within a week, detained the father, and placed him under house arrest. Masha was sent to a shelter. The prosecutor requested two years in prison for Alexey for comments against the war on the internet. During the trial, the Moskalevs were supported by many famous people both in Russia and Europe: from representatives of the European Commission to the head of the private military company 'Wagner', Yevgeny Prigozhin. — If anything, I didn't need anything but his support, — Alexey interjects. Masha was pleased when the lead singer of the band 'Naive' wore a T-shirt with the inscription 'Masha Moskaleva' at a concert, although she doesn't know the performer's songs. 'It's nice, of course, but honestly, I'm used to everything.' She admits that in her free time, she listens to the young singer Vanya Dmitrienko and watches Korean dramas. Alexey Moskalev. Photo: Yulia Kaneva / 'Novaya Gazeta Europe'. The Escape The day before the verdict was announced – March 29, 2023 – Alexey decided to escape from house arrest to another country. Activists convinced him that they would later bring Masha to him. — Four cars were guarding me: a special assignment vehicle, police, traffic police, and the FSB. They stood at my entrance around the clock to prevent me from escaping. I had binoculars, I saw them standing in a group, smoking. Six hours pass, these cars leave, the next shift arrives. On the night [before the verdict was announced], I had to leave house arrest. It was very difficult. Around 3:30 AM, I called a taxi, and I managed to leave. The cars were still standing by the entrance. Apparently, they dozed off a little. After all, they are all people, human beings… in quotes, — Alexey recounts. The taxi driver dropped Alexey off 320 kilometers away – in Moscow. There, human rights activists helped him saw off the electronic bracelet and bought him a train ticket to Minsk. Alexey did not throw away the 'bug' and kept it as a souvenir. He says, 'foolishly,' he thought the tracker only worked within his apartment. The KGB of Belarus detected the fugitive the next day. Moskalev was convoyed first to Smolensk, then to Kursk, from there to Tula, and finally to a colony in Novomoskovsk, whose administration repeatedly sent the convict to the punishment cell (SHIZO). „ — They will find any reason: either he held his hands wrong, or he didn't greet the chief, or something else. As I understand it, there were calls from the FSB, from higher authorities, to start pressuring me, — Alexey suspects. — SHIZO is a basement room. Brick vaults. Colossal cold. They gave me a light shirt, and that was it. They didn't always provide mattresses, so I had to sleep on iron rebar. A thin blanket, I wrapped myself up completely, like a cocoon, so the rats wouldn't bite. I was worried about infections. It was August then. The temperature in the basement did not rise above 12 degrees Celsius: about the same as today in Paris. A month later, Alexey was transferred to the regular regime, which was 'a bit more comfortable,' but it didn't get easier. On the second day, the prisoners, whose cigarette supply was cut off, staged a riot. Guards first flooded Alexey's cell with extinguisher powder, then called in an OMON unit. — They said that for this disturbance, they would start beating us. A young guy, a Roma, found out what awaited us, took out a piece of blade, and started cutting his veins. He was covered in blood. They tell us, 'Get out into the corridor.' Well, how? A person is covered in blood. 'We've seen hundreds like that, we don't care.' They are not surprised by such things. For two and a half hours, we stood with our hands raised, but fortunately, there was no beating at that moment, — Alexey recalls. Mother During the interview, Masha is on her phone. She seems to have memorized her father's stories from the past few days. I gently ask Alexey how he became a single father. — She was a longed-for child, a late child – I was 41 when she was born. I separated from her mother, we didn't get along, let's put it that way. She understood that I wouldn't give up my child. And she didn't insist much. I gave her mother the freedom to arrange her personal life. I raised two girls, — Alexey recalls. Masha has a half-sister, Dasha, who is four years older than her. They lived with Alexey until ten-year-old Dasha was taken by her mother. — I planned for Dasha to live with me until at least 18, but she started asking to go to her mother. Her mother called: 'Dasha, come, we have everything good here, a swimming pool at home.' But in reality, it's a village: not a house, but a rotten shed, not a swimming pool, but a stagnant pond. So, Dasha left, and Masha continued to live with me, — Moskalev explains. In the spring of 2023, when Alexey was arrested, his ex-wife Olga Sitchikhina took Masha from the shelter. According to the man, this happened under pressure from the guardianship authorities, the city administration, and volunteers who repaired Olga's house and even paid off her loans. Every month, activists sent donations for Masha's upkeep. Masha managed to talk to her imprisoned father for the first time after a year and a half since the verdict. — After my constant visits to the colony administration with applications, I was allowed to get a phone card. ' I will never forget that moment in my life. Masha answered the phone. 'Hello.' I said, 'Masha, hello, it's me.' I didn't say I was her dad. 'Do you recognize me?' A pause, silence, and then a wild cry. She just started crying hysterically. In short, she cried away all the money she had. We didn't even have time to exchange a word. I tried to calm her down as best I could, but it didn't work, — Alexey recalls. Masha, along with her lawyer, calculated the exact date her father was to be released from prison. She came to meet him from the colony with a pocket dog – a mini-Yorkie named Mole, a gift from a friend. When he was able to hug his daughter, Moskalev recalls, it was a moment of happiness that was immediately replaced by the fear of being arrested again. 'Don't think that when you're released, we'll leave you alone,' Alexey quotes FSB officers who visited him in prison. The family decided to leave for Armenia immediately after Alexey's release. There was no question of staying with their mother, Masha emphasizes. — Where was mom for these 10 years!? It's not that I'm offended. We didn't communicate – there's no point in starting now. We are too different people, — she cuts off. Alexey and Maria Moskalev in a Parisian park. Photo: Yulia Kaneva / 'Novaya Gazeta Europe'. Freedom After recounting his imprisonment, Alexey steps aside and admires the Araucaria. Masha and I have a private chat. She admits that she has never dated boys and has never tried alcohol. Now she dreams of enrolling in a French school and bringing Mole from Yerevan, who lacked the necessary vaccinations to cross the border. We move back towards the orange coffee shop. Alexey looks around anxiously and remembers on the go that he needs to express support for Leonid Nevzlin, the Israeli businessman who sponsored the Moskalevs in Armenia and continues to help them in France. „ — Before France issued us a visa, we sent a request to Germany and waited a very long time for a response. The German authorities gave us neither a positive nor a negative answer. At the end of December, Masha and I decided that there was nothing more to wait for, we had to try to apply for a visa to France. We were called to the French Embassy in Yerevan, and on March 10, we were issued a visa. I didn't even think they would let us out of there, I was very worried because Armenia has a cooperation agreement with Russia, and they could have extradited us at Russia's request, — Alexey recalls. — Thank God, it all worked out. Around us are posters advertising expensive perfumes and portraits of Ryan Gosling, who starred in a new film. Signs above cafes and tobacco shops press against the balconies of the second floors: maybe French people live there, maybe emigrants like me and the Moskalevs, who fled the dictatorial regimes of their countries. We wish the Moskalevs never to encounter the authorities of a small Russian provincial town again. Masha notes that she can only return to Russia if the government changes, and the government 'won't change as long as there are such people' – these are the people from the administration who tried to separate them from their father and filed a lawsuit with the guardianship authorities to restrict Moskalev's parental rights, and the housing maintenance employees who cut off the gas to the father while he was under house arrest, and, of course, the teachers who report on their students. Masha believes that they will always be in Russia.
