Russian poet given jail term for reciting verses against war in Ukraine

Yegor Shtovba, who also participated in the event and recited Kamardin’s verses, was sentenced to five and a half years on the same charges

Artyom Kamardin, left, appeared in court in Moscow (AP)

A Russian poet has been given a seven-year prison sentence for reciting verses against Russia’s war in Ukraine, as part of a relentless Kremlin crackdown on dissent.

Artyom Kamardin was convicted at Moscow’s Tverskoi District Court on charges of making calls undermining national security and inciting hatred, which related to him reading his anti-war poems during a street performance in downtown Moscow in September 2022.