Alexei Moskalev and his daughter Masha received French humanitarian visas and traveled to Paris on the evening of March 11, Novaya Gazeta Europe wrote.
Moskalev was tried in Russia for “defaming” the Russian military after his daughter drew an anti-war cartoon. In the fall of 2024, he left the colony and left Russia with his daughter. The Moskalev family tried to obtain German humanitarian visas, but the paperwork process took more than a year, according to the newspaper.
In addition, the risks of persecution in Russia have increased, Novaya Gazeta Europe writes. At the end of December, the guardianship authorities began searching for Masha and putting pressure on her relatives who remained in Russia, the newspaper reported, and because of her anti-war channel on Telegram, there was a risk of a case being filed against her for “defaming” the Russian army.
At the end of 2025, the human rights organization inTransit, to which the Moskalev family turned for help, submitted an application for French humanitarian visas for them.
The inTransit website noted that the Moskalevs have five-year passports without biometric information, which France has not accepted for visas since April 2025. Therefore, not only a visa was requested for them, but also a laissez-passer – a travel document that replaces a passport for crossing the border. On March 10, the Moskalev family received permission to enter France.
“We are very happy and thank the German Foreign Ministry, which made every effort to provide protection for the Moskalev family. The French Foreign Ministry, for their protection in this case and, in principle, for continuing to provide support to Russians who are being politically persecuted. This is especially valuable against the backdrop of the closure of similar programs in other countries,” said the InTransit coordinator.