The breakdown in relations between the fugitive supporter of the annexation of Crimea and the Russian authorities has reached Moscow’s Presnensky court.
The Presnensky District Court of Moscow has received the materials of the criminal case of former State Duma deputy, opera singer Maria Maksakova-Igenbergs (declared a foreign agent in the Russian Federation). This was reported to TASS in the court. The artist will be tried in absentia on charges of public calls for activities against the security of Russia.
In December 2024, the singer living abroad was arrested in absentia on charges under Article 280.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The reason for the case was her publication of a video on YouTube, which called for sponsoring the Ukrainian armed forces. The video also discredited the Russian Armed Forces, according to the Russian investigation. If convicted, the singer faces up to six years in prison. A criminal case has also been opened against the artist for failure to comply with the duties of a foreign agent.
The singer was added to the list of foreign agents of the Ministry of Justice in May 2023. In the fall of the same year, she was fined 30 thousand and 40 thousand rubles for the lack of appropriate labeling in publications on the Internet. In August 2024, the singer was fined a third time – for 50 thousand rubles. In June 2025, a fourth fine of the same amount was imposed.