25-year-old singer Eduard Charlotte apologized to President Vladimir Putin and all Russians during the hearing, the agency reported RIA News.
“Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a man with a capital letter. <…> I tore up a drawing with your picture, accompanied by a song by Igor Talkov, without understanding why, without harboring any anger towards you or any obvious disagreement on any political issue. <…> “I ask you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, for forgiveness for the stupidest video display ever displayed in public.”
– Charlotte said via video link in the Samara Regional Court.
The musician asked for forgiveness from Patriarch of Moscow and All Russians Kirill, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, head of the “Safe Internet League” Ekaterina Mizulina, and people who somehow appeared in his videos and posts.
“At an hour when the intoxication of pro-American propaganda was at its peak, I was struck by the foolish idea of setting fire to a citizen’s internal passport. “I apologize to all Russian citizens for this recklessness,” Charlotte added.
The musician is currently detained. He appealed to change the preventive measure to house arrest or bail. Charlotte’s lawyer noted that his client fully admitted his guilt and repented. According to him, the musician will be able to create works in his home that will provide “some measure of atonement for his crime and some appeal to the public and state power.” Despite the defense of the lawyer, the court rejected the objection. Charlotte will remain in pre-trial detention until at least January 24.
In a conversation with socialbites.ca at the beginning of December 2023, the musician’s father said that he considered the arrest a very cruel punishment for his son.
“He’s not a repeat offender to be thrown out there [в СИЗО]. The prosecutor’s office said it was claimed that he could flee abroad. However, he destroyed one of the passports himself, and the Investigative Committee took away the second one. How can he go somewhere abroad? Therefore, I believe that these measures are not proportionate to what he has done. Of course he should be punished. But I think the preventive measure should be softer and more justified,” said Valery Charlotte.
Criminal cases against Charlotte
Currently, four criminal cases have been opened against the musician:
He is accused of rehabilitating Nazism, insulting the feelings of believers and damaging documents. The reason for their excitement was Charlotte’s social networks, where she posted provocative videos.
So, the musician tore off the St. George ribbon in the shape of the letter Z and stepped on it, sang about the exchange rate in his underwear to the tune of the song “Victory Day”, nailed a photo of Patriarch Kirill to a tree. , burned his military ID and the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified, and also burned his passport and declared his readiness to go to Ukraine to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Safer Internet League President Ekaterina Mizulina telegram channel Charlotte was also accused of LGBT propaganda (the International LGBT Social Movement is considered extremist and is banned in the Russian Federation), writing:
“The Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Samara Region opened 3 criminal cases against the Russophobic blogger LGBT propagandist Charlotte: 2 of them under Part 4 of Article 354.1 “Rehabilitation of Nazism” of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation As well as a criminal case under Article 148 – “Insulting feelings of believers.”
In total, Charlotte faces up to six years in prison in these three criminal cases. The period may be extended in connection with the start of the fourth.
Who is Charlotte?
Eduard Charlotte was born on February 7, 1998 in Samara. He has a twin brother, his sons were raised by their father. Charlotte became interested in music at an early age, founded her own musical group The Way of Pioneers and began posting covers of popular songs on social networks. Already in 2017, he managed to sign a contract with the record company and release several albums, and in 2019 he decided to try his luck in the show “Songs on TNT”. In the same year, he released his most popular song “Cheek to Cheek”, which he even sang on the “Evening Urgant” program. From that moment the musician’s career began. Her music was included in the soundtrack of the TV series “Difficult Teens”, and then Charlotte played the role in the TV series “1703”.
On January 12, 2023, the singer faked his death. He was supposedly supposed to be buried on February 7, but he released new musical material that day.
Already in the summer he moved to Armenia and declared his opposition to the actions of the Russian government, but in another country he quickly ran out of money. That’s why she announced a fundraiser on her social networks. In November, the musician nevertheless decided to return to Russia. I asked my subscribers for money for the ticket again.
Charlotte, St. He was detained and arrested for 13 days at the airport in St. Petersburg. After that, criminal cases were opened against him. The musician was taken to Samara, to the place of recording. All hearings are held here.