Smolny Beyond Borders Presents

Sasha Skochilenko: “How a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences Helped Me in Jail”

Alexandra (Sasha) Skochilenko will discuss her studies in anthropology at Smolny College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (St. Petersburg, Russia) and how this experience shaped and strengthened her anti-war stance. She will also reflect on her famous courtroom speech, “Oh yes, life!”, which explores the value of life and reconciliation in times of war and conflict, and how these ideas helped her survive imprisonment.

The conversation will be moderated by Ilya Kalinin, Sasha’s former academic advisor at Smolny College, currently a Smolny Beyond Borders fellow and Einstein fellow at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin.

To attend in-person at Bard College Berlin, please register here. To participate in the event via Zoom, please use this link.

Sasha Skochilenko is a Russian artist, musician, poet, and former political prisoner. She was arrested in April 2022 in Saint Petersburg for distributing anti-war messages. Amnesty International declared her a prisoner of conscience, the Memorial human rights organization recognized her as a political prisoner, and the BBC included her in its 100 Women of 2022 list. In November 2023, she was sentenced to seven years in prison under Russia’s so-called "fake news" law.

After spending more than two years behind bars, Skochilenko was released in Ankara on August 1, 2024, as part of a complex international prisoner exchange. She currently lives in Germany and continues her artistic work. In 2024, she participated in exhibitions in Paris, Amsterdam, and London, showcasing her drawings created in prison. Beyond her activism, she is the author of Book About Depression (2014), which played a significant role in destigmatizing mental health issues in Russia. She is openly lesbian, and her partner actively worked to raise awareness about her case and the conditions of her detention.

The case study prepared by Bard College student Sofia Semenova documents the harsh conditions of Skochilenko’s imprisonment and its effects on her physical and mental health.

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For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm CET/GMT+1

Location: W15 Cafe at Bard College Berlin (Waldstrasse 15, 13156) and online

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