California amateur ballerina detained in Russia on suspicion of treason, faces life in prison for donating $51 to Ukraine: report
A dual US-Russian citizen has been detained in Russia on suspicion of treason after allegedly donating $50 to Ukraine’s war effort, Moscow officials said.
Amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina, 33, was brought into court blindfolded and shackled to face charges she had given funds to Ukrainian organization Razom which then benefitted the country’s army, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed, according to a TASS news agency report.
“Since February 2022, she has been proactively collecting funds in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organizations, which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine items, equipment, weapons and ammunition by the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the FSB charged.
Karelina, who manages a Beverly Hills spa in Los Angeles, was supposedly first arrested on Jan. 27 in Yekaterinburg, here home town, where police accused her of “petty hooliganism” for swearing, Russia’s Mediazone outlet claimed.
“The young woman was using coarse, obscene language in front of other citizens, was behaving rudely and defiantly,” court officials told the local news outlet Ura.ru
When police were called, their arrival was said to have “riled her up” Karelina. She allegedly ignored the officers’ commands and violently resisted arrest.
On Jan. 29, Karelina was found guilty of hooliganism and sentenced to 14 days in jail.
She filed a complaint about her arrest the next day, but the court rejected it. She was then charged under Article 275 of Russia’s Criminal Code, which carries a term of 12 years to life in prison.
“We are all in shock,” said Eleonora Srebroski, Karelina’s former mother-in-law in an interview with The Post Tuesday. “She is just a wonderful soul. She would never do anything evil to anyone.
“Knowing Ksenia, she would never do anything criminal. Her mom and dad had recently divorced and she wanted to see the family,” said Srebroski, adding that Karelina has a younger sister in Russia.
“She was supposed to be back by now. My son was calling her, and when we found out what had happened, we have all been in shock. He told me this morning ‘let’s think what we can do to help her.’ We don’t want to cause her any trouble.”
Srebroski said her son Evgeny married Karelina in 2013, a year after she first arrived in the US on a work/study trip from her hometown near the Ural Mountains in central Russia.
Ksenia is now staring down charges of treason over alleged transfer of $51.80 from a US bank account to Razom which states its aim as “contributing to the establishment of a secure, prosperous, and democratic Ukraine,” according to its website.
Who is Ksenia Karelina, the Russian ballerina accused of treason?
- Amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina, 32, was arrested in Russia on suspicion of treason, according to Moscow officials.
- The US-Russian dual citizen allegedly donated $51 to Ukraine’s war effort through the organization Razom. According to Russia’s Federal Security Service, Karelina has been “proactively collecting funds in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organizations.”
- The Los Angeles resident manages a spa in Beverly Hills and was in Russia to celebrate New Year’s Eve with her family.
- “We are all in shock,” Eleonora Srebroski, Karelina’s former mother-in-law, told The Post. “She is just a wonderful soul. She would never do anything evil to anyone.”
- Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor called the arrest a “middle finger” to the US from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- Karelina’s ex-husband Evgeny Khavana told The Post that she was arrested over “stupid politics.”
- The dancer faces a sentence of 12 years to life in prison.
Razom, which did not return a request for comment, raises money for programs including medical aid such as tourniquets, ambulances and hospital equipment for the war-torn country. There is no suggestion it pays for arms.
The White House said officials will seek consular access to Karelina, who became a US citizen in 2021 and is the latest American to be held by Putin’s internal security services.
Karelina is currently being detained under a pre-trial custody order, NBC News said.
Karelina studied at the Sergei Diaghilev Lyceum in Yekaterinburg, before graduating from Ural Federal University in 2013, according to her Facebook profile.
Photos on her social media show the Russian native posing in ballet positions, although there is no record of her dancing professionally.
Karelina stopped posting on her Russian VKontakte page at the end of 2021, at the same time that she celebrated getting her US citizenship, Mediazone noted.
In a 2023 interview, she claimed to have married an American man, the outlet added.
“We are aware of the reports, however, due to privacy considerations we have nothing further to convey at this moment,” a spokesperson for the US embassy in Moscow said.
News of Karelina’s arrest came as the Moscow City Court rejected Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s appeal on espionage charges.
The journalist – who has been behind bars in Russia for nearly a year – will now remain in jail through at least March 30, according to the state media outlet RIA.
With Post wires
