The Bryansk Sovetsky District Court ordered house arrest for Evgenia Hoffmann, a Moscow resident who publicly burned her Russian passport on New Year’s Eve. Hoffmann was prohibited from using a phone and the internet, a measure announced by the joint press service of the region’s courts.
During the briefing on the preventive measure, Hoffmann became emotional and shed tears in court.
In relation to Hoffmann, investigators opened a criminal case under Article 329 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which deals with desecration of the state emblem of Russia. If found guilty, she could face up to a year in prison.
Additionally, Hoffmann was charged under the provision addressing intentional infliction of moderate harm to health with hooligan motives (paragraph “e” of Article 112). A Telegram channel affiliated with Mash cited that a few days before burning the passport, Hoffmann had a dispute with a friend that resulted in a broken nose. The maximum penalty under this charge can reach five years in prison.
I burned it for fun
Investigators state that Hoffmann set fire to her passport near a Bryansk club on the morning of January 1, using a lighter as seen in a video posted online.
Social media users reported that Hoffmann was subjected to harassment and labeled as supporting Ukraine for burning the passport. Baza reported that Hoffmann claimed the act was done without any political subtext and that she was intoxicated at the time. She also suggested that those who left offensive comments were not in service with any military actions for some reason.
On her now-deleted Telegram channel, Hoffmann said she burned the passport because of an unattractive photo. In a conversation with Mash, she reportedly claimed the document had expired and no longer held validity. She reportedly lost the passport in 2018 and chose to burn it when she found it. Video frames appeared to show a passport issued in 2021.
Following the incident, Ekaterina Mizulina, president of the Safer Internet League, stated that she would contact the police about the matter.
Officials reported that Hoffmann was detained and questioned on the evening of January 1. TASS, citing the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Bryansk region, confirmed the blogger’s detention and the ongoing investigation. The case has led to a formal criminal investigation, with authorities viewing the actions as an affront to civil and patriotic feelings of Russian citizens.
This event echoes a prior case involving a musician who burned a passport in June 2023 and posted the video on Instagram. The musician linked the act to a stance in support of Ukraine and faced scrutiny in media discussions at the time.
Sources consulted for this report include statements from the district court and official agencies, with additional context provided by regional and national media outlets at the time of the events. [Source: regional court statements, TASS, Mash, Baza, and Ekaterina Mizulina comments].