Last month, it was revealed that Smorževskihh-Smirnova had been handed a decade-long prison sentence in absentia on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army and rehabilitating Nazism.

Since 2023, Smorževskihh-Smirnova and her team have hung posters on Narva Castle walls calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal and comparing him to Adolf Hitler.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) on Wednesday (October 15) signed the decision to impose national sanctions on Prosecutor Lyudmila Balandina and Judge Dmitry Gordeev.

He said the two individuals had undermined international law, Estonia's sovereignty, and suppressed democratic values and human rights.

The minister called Russia's actions "politically motivated judicial persecution."

"The persecution of our people for daring to stand up to the darkness and cruelty of Putin's bloody regime brings consequences," Tsahkna said.

The minister said that both Balandina and Gordeev are directly responsible for the judicial persecution of Smorževskihh-Smirnova.

"For years, both have contributed to the spread of Russian propaganda, the entrenchment of Putin's oppressive regime, and the violation of freedom of expression and human rights," he said in a statement.

"We will not stop at national sanctions. Those who support and implement the brutal and authoritarian policies of the Russian regime have no place in Europe, and we will do everything in our power to deny them the privileges that freedom offers," Tsahkna added.

The national sanction takes effect today and includes a ban on entry into Estonia.

War criminal

Smorževskihh-Smirnova has been on the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs' wanted list since the summer of 2024.

She was charged with "rehabilitation of Nazism and public dissemination of knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces" in July.

The Russian authorities take issue with Narva Museum's anti-propaganda initiatives on May 9, when Russia celebrates "Victory Day" to commemorate World War II.

Since 2023, the Russian authorities in the border city of Ivangorod have set up screens to project the Victory parade and patriotic pro-war songs to Russian-speaking residents across the river in Narva.

In response, Smorževskihh-Smirnova and her team have hung posters on the castle wall calling Putin a war criminal and making comparisons to Adolf Hitler.

In 2025, Smorževskihh-Smirnova was named Estonia's European of the Year after a public vote.

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