People walk past “Peace to the World” graffiti in St. Petersburg, Russia, 25 March 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANATOLY MALTSEV

A 42-year-old Moscow resident who was detained on Saturday has been charged with vandalism for spray-painting the Soviet-era slogan “Peace to the World” in various public spaces in St. Petersburg, local outlet Konkretno.ru reported on Sunday.

The arresting officers from Russia’s Centre for Combating Extremism believe that the suspect was responsible for painting the same slogan in various other parts of the city. The man, who has not been named, faces up to three years in prison if convicted, and though he was not placed in pretrial detention, he did sign an undertaking not to leave Russia before his court date.

At least eight separate versions of the graffiti reportedly appeared in Russia’s second city in early June, according to independent media outlet Bumaga. The phrase also appeared on bridges and embankments throughout St. Petersburg.

The slogan "Peace to the World" was widely used during the Soviet era, particularly in official anti-war rhetoric. Although it originally had no overtly political connotations, its reappearance in contemporary Russia has been increasingly viewed as a form of protest against the war in Ukraine by the authorities.

In a similar case in August 2022, a court in the central Russian city of Ivanovo dismissed charges against a local man who held up a sign bearing the same phrase during a solo anti-war protest shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the time, the court ruled that the slogan did not constitute “discreditation” of the Russian army, a criminal offence that was introduced in the first months of the war.