A 21-year-old artist from the Russian city of Tomsk has been sentenced to nine years in a penal colony on charges of treason for donating $30 to the Ukrainian army.

According to the Russian independent news outlet Mediazona, Tatyana Laletina was sentenced on June 28 following a closed trial shrouded in secrecy, with no further information published by the court. However, the court's press service did confirm the sentencing to Mediazona.

As reported by the Telegram news channel Govorit NeMoskva, citing a letter written by Laletina, she initially faced accusations of sending $10 to a Ukrainian fund on the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, February 24, 2022. A subsequent investigation uncovered an additional $20 donation made in April 2022, after FSB agents accessed her phone.

Laletina was initially detained on February 26, 2024, at her rented apartment in Tomsk. Although it is unclear whether she admitted guilt, the minimum penalty for treason is typically 12 years in a penal colony. Her nine-year sentence suggests she may have cooperated with the investigation.

A friend of Laletina, speaking anonymously to Mediazona, mentioned that Laletina had told her mother she would be released within a week.  Her family later discovered that she was facing serious charges. According to her friend, Laletina had “a justice complex” and had severed ties with artists who supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. An artist herself, she was known online as 'teatya' and ran a Telegram channel showcasing erotic illustrations inspired by anime and the game Genshin Impact.

This sentencing is part of a rise in treason charges in Russia since the start of the country's invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, treason cases nearly doubled compared to 2022. Over the past decade, convictions for crimes against the state have surged nearly tenfold, with 862 individuals convicted in 2023 alone.