Russian Ambassador Presents Book to Hasto on Maria Butina's Prison Experience

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Indonesia, Sergei Tolchenov, handed over a book written by Russian woman Maria Butina, titled #Prison Diary, to Hasto Kristiyanto, Secretary-General of the PDI Perjuangan Central Executive Board (DPP).

The main content of Maria Butina’s #Prison Diary book concerns her personal experiences during 10 months of detention in the United States (US) after being accused of being a Russian foreign agent without official registration.

The handover of the book took place during the Russian Ambassador’s visit to the residence of the 5th President of Indonesia and PDIP Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri in Jakarta on Thursday.

“Your life as a politician is full of dynamics and struggles facing challenges, so I give you this book about Maria Butina’s struggle in a US prison,” said Ambassador Tolchenov when handing over the book.

Ambassador Tolchenov gave that special gift to Hasto after exchanging souvenirs with Megawati.

Hasto welcomed the giving of the book and promised to send a dissertation book on the geopolitical thoughts of Indonesia’s First President Soekarno (Bung Karno), complete with the construction of Progressive Geopolitical Coexistence theory.

Maria Butina released the book about her experience in a US prison at the end of 2020. The contents of the book include notes on life in prison, self-defence, and a narrative of “political victim”; Butina describes her case as part of the anti-Russian political hysteria following the 2016 US election.

On that occasion, Hasto also recounted his experiences in prison.

“My life in prison was very productive. I was able to write six books,” he said.