In the Estonian city of Narva, on the border with Russia, a picture of the Russian President with the words “Putin is a war criminal” was hung on the wall of a medieval castle.
The image appeared on the wall of the castle, where the museum is located, at midnight on May 9. It can be seen from the other side of the river – from the Russian city of Ivangorod, where a festive concert is held on the embankment on Victory Day.
Narva Museum director Maria Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova told Delphi that Putin’s portrait was hung “as a reminder of the ongoing war and the war crimes committed by Russia against the Ukrainian people.”
“May 9 is not just a date for us, it is an important symbolic moment, which in Narva as a border city has special significance,” she stressed.
Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova noted that the event bearing Putin’s image, which is held annually after the start of the major war between Russia and Ukraine on May 9, causes mixed reactions among Narva residents. “I personally often have to deal with insults from political scientists with certain points of view,” she said. “From an anthropological point of view, this is a very interesting phenomenon. However, there are many people who thank us for our stance.”
A portrait of Putin, his face covered in blood, has already been hung on the wall of Narva Castle in 2023 and 2024. In May 2025, another photo appeared – with Putin in a portrait of Hitler.
In September 2025, the Moscow City Court sentenced the director of the Narva Museum, Maria Smurzhevskikh-Smirnova, in absentia to 10 years in prison, declaring her guilty of spreading “false information” about the Russian army and “Nazi rehabilitation” for working with the image.