The author of the Kirov anthem was re-sentenced to five years in the case of “fake news” about the army

The Pervomaisky District Court of Kirov repeatedly sentenced conductor and author of the city anthem Prokhor Protasov in absentia to five years in prison, finding him guilty of spreading "fakes" about the Russian army. This is reported by the human rights project "Network Freedoms".

The reason for initiating a criminal case was Protasov's posts on VKontakte about the killings of civilians in Bucha and the Russian missile attack on a shopping center in Kremenchug. Protasov, in particular, reposted the publications of Meduza, Present Time, and Maxim Katz. During the trial, the prosecution asked the court to sentence him to nine years in prison.

On February 22, the same court had already issued the same sentence to Protasov, but later it was overturned by the Kirov Regional Court due to the discovery of "significant violations of the law."

Previously, Protasov worked in Kirov as a conductor of the Vyatka Symphony Orchestra. He is also known as the author of the city's anthem. He left Russia in 2018 and has been living in Canada ever since.

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