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These charges accused Kvast of “LGBT propaganda” online among adults (part 3, Article 6.21 of the Administrative Offences Code). The court reviewed them on 29 July and 4 August. Each resulted in a fine of 200,000 roubles. The cases were brought in connection with the manga “Fujoshi Haru-chan Likes to Drink,” “Banana Fish,” and “Reincarnation in the Colosseum.”

In June, Kvast was fined 400,000 roubles (about US$4,440) under the article for “LGBT propaganda” among minors (part 4, Article 6.21 of the Administrative Offences Code). That case involved the manga “Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie.”

Kvast did not attend the court sessions. At present, the manga referred to in the court rulings are not accessible via the provided links.

On 14 August, the court will review three more similar charges against Kvast (1, 2, 3), and four more on 20 August (1, 2, 3, 4).

Previously, it was reported that ten such charges had reached the court since the start of summer—that number has now reached 11.

Furthermore, since the beginning of July, another 11 charges of “LGBT propaganda” have been filed with the Tagansky District Court—these have been drawn up against the legal entity “Mangalib.” On 25 August, the court will consider four of these (1, 2, 3, 4).

“Mangalib” is an online platform and mobile app where people can read comics in the genres of manga, manhwa, and manhua in Russian.

On appeal, the court decided that the offence had not been proven and terminated the case.

Prokopyeva clarified that the first-instance court had based its decision on the findings of an expert report, which alleged incitement of hatred on professional grounds because of the phrase: “eshniki are the bottom of the police system.” However, the appeal court judge ruled that a professional group is not equivalent to a social group. The article Prokopyeva was charged under refers only to social groups.

Initially, the Kurchatovsky District Court in Chelyabinsk sentenced Prokopyeva to 40 hours of compulsory community service.

The protocol against the student was prompted by a post about abuse and violence she had experienced in the police station last autumn. She had been detained on suspicion of putting up “extremist leaflets.” It was later established that she had not put up the leaflets, but in fact had torn one of them down.

The Oktyabrsky District Court in Barnaul—a major city in Siberia—considered the case back on 21 April. The reason was a post in Sakharov’s Telegram channel “My Cat is 13 Years Old,” published in January.

At the time, the activist shared a fragment from the “Conversations about Important Things” teaching materials, which stated that teachers should tell schoolchildren that participants in the war in Ukraine are “defenders of the Fatherland” who are “continuing the glorious and noble work of our ancestors—warriors who have always stood up to defend their homeland and its people.”

Commenting on this fragment, Sakharov called the current Russian army an occupying force. He wrote that the Russian military had brought a great deal of pain and destruction to Ukraine, and that “children are being indoctrinated with the idea that a Russian soldier is always a hero, no matter what. Whether they are defending their own country or going to seize someone else’s land—it doesn’t seem to matter anymore.”

The activist said that in February, police called him and invited him to the station to draw up the protocol. Recently, he was informed that the Federal Bailiffs Service had initiated enforcement proceedings to collect the fine.

In November 2024, Sakharov left Russia due to threats of criminal prosecution. Prior to that, he had been prosecuted three times under the article for violation of public assembly rules (Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code) because of his anti-war protests and for laying flowers at a monument to victims of political repression after the death of politician Alexei Navalny.

Pavel Plakhin, a resident of Omsk, a major city in southwestern Siberia, has been sentenced to 40 hours of compulsory community service for a comment on Telegram deemed to “incite hatred” (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences) towards United Russia. The decision was handed down on 25 July by the Leninsky District Court of Omsk, according to the court, and reported by the outlet “Ostorozhno, Novosti” (source).

According to the court, he posted the following comment on Telegram: “We need to set fire to the Kremlin, the White House, all the places where those f***ing United Russia members are sitting.”

The specialist who conducted the analysis of the comment told the court that the message contained “incitement to destructive actions by carrying out arson attacks on buildings where members of the United Russia party could potentially be located,” as well as “an assertion of the need to carry out such actions.”

The court concluded that Plakhin’s statement was aimed at “humiliating the dignity” of “United Russia.” He admitted guilt.

Alexei Navalny’s book Patriot was declared extremist for “inciting hatred towards the current authorities,” reports Mediazona, citing an order published by the Leningrad Regional Court.

Kingisepp customs officers found the book in the luggage of Alexei Mikhailov, who was crossing the border checkpoint at Ivangorod from Estonia into Russia. He was named as a defendant in the case, but did not appear in court.

The deputy head of customs sent the book for analysis to the expert forensic service in Nizhny Novgorod. There, they found not only hatred towards the current authorities but also “signs of information that could harm the political or economic interests of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, their national security, and the health and morality of citizens.” The customs authorities’ case was heard on 9 June,

The Ministry of Education and Science has banned students at Russian universities from keeping books by “foreign agent” writers Boris Akunin and Dmitry Bykov in their dormitories. A photo of an information letter addressed to university heads was published by Akunin himself and noted by the outlet Groza. The document was signed by the acting director of the Department of State Youth Policy and Educational Activities, Denis Savenkov.

The reasons why students are not allowed to keep Akunin’s and Bykov’s books are not explained in the letter. The Ministry only stated that universities should inform students of the ban “in order to create safe conditions for learning and living in dormitories.”

Denis Savenkov also asked university and admissions staff to “conduct awareness-raising work” to inform students and prospective students of the ban on keeping the books.

13:46 The press service of the Ministry of Education and Science denies that the letter published by Akunin is authentic. A ministry representative told Kommersant:

“The Ministry of Education and Science of Russia is not involved with this letter and, accordingly, did not send it to educational institutions. It is worth noting that this fake has appeared in the information space before, but due to its obvious absurdity, it did not gain traction,” the press service stated.

A source for journalists within the Ministry of Education and Science commented on the letter’s publication: “Such a scam is very much in the spirit of the Fandorin novels [referring to Akunin’s detective hero].”

16:01 Belarusian prankster Vladislav Bokhan wrote that the fake document about the ban on Akunin’s and Bykov’s books in Russian university dorms was released by his “partner from previous stunts.”

According to Bokhan, this was done “in order to test the sensitivity of the higher education system.”

“So just know, we’ve moved beyond schools,” wrote the prankster.

Vladislav Bokhan is an activist from Minsk, known for his pranks targeting schools in Russia and Belarus.

In November 2024, on behalf of a United Russia party member, he sent out a demand to schools that students learn to make tin foil hats “to protect themselves from enemy irradiation by NATO satellites.” Some teachers sent Bokhan photo and video reports in response.

In June 2022, the activist demanded that schoolteachers in Klin, a town near Moscow, take part in a Saturday clean-up day under the slogan “Work sets you free.” This slogan was used in concentration camps during the Second World War. Bokhan was also sent a photo report afterward.

• In mid-July, a court sentenced Boris Akunin in absentia to 14 years in prison and a fine of 400,000 roubles (approximately US$4,500) on charges of justifying terrorism (part 2, article 205.2 of the Criminal Code), aiding it (part 1, article 205.1), and failing to comply with “foreign agent” obligations (part 2, article 330.1). Akunin was declared a “foreign agent” in January 2024.
• After the start of the war in Ukraine, theatres began cancelling performances based on Akunin’s plays, and bookstores started removing his works from sale. The publishing house Zakharov, which published Akunin’s books, was also searched.
• The Ministry of Justice entered Dmitry Bykov into the “foreign agents” register in July 2022. In April this year, it emerged that he had been charged with spreading “fake news” about the Russian army out of hatred (para. “d” part 2, article 207.3) and failing to comply with “foreign agent” obligations (part 2, article 330.1). In mid-July, the Interior Ministry put Bykov on a wanted list.

In Russia, the website of the Arctida project, which specialises in the Russian Arctic, has been blocked by order of the Prosecutor General’s Office. This was reported on the organisation’s Telegram channel.

The reasons for the block are unknown. In 2022, the project’s director, Ilya Shumanov, was added to the register of “foreign agents.” In 2024, he was declared wanted in a criminal case for failing to fulfil the obligations of a “foreign agent.”

“Our initiatives in the fields of climate finance transparency, ensuring effective governance principles in the Arctic region, and the protection and advancement of the rights of Indigenous peoples of the North are aimed at promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contributing to building a sustainable future for the Arctic,” states the Arctida website.

Ivan Apostolevsky, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Leningrad Oblast and leader of the Communist Party (KPRF) faction, has been jailed for seven days under the article on promoting the symbols of an extremist organisation (Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing the regional courts’ press service.

Apostolevsky was detained yesterday, 29 July, at Moscow Railway Station in St Petersburg while returning from a work trip to China. The reason for the prosecution was his posts about Navalny from 2017. The deputy denies having written anything about the politician on social media.

1 August Details emerged regarding the specific reason for Apostolevsky’s arrest. An explanation appeared on the KPRF website, which was noted by the Telegram channel “Govorit NeMoskva.”

The charge of promoting extremist symbols against the deputy did indeed stem from a publication about Alexey Navalny. The post included the cover of the communist youth newspaper LKSМ “Fonar” (“Lantern”), which featured a photo of Navalny. In his post, Apostolevsky also sharply criticised Navalny’s activities, using Lenin’s assessments of liberalism.

“Navalny appears on the cover of the newspaper ‘Fonar’—that’s true. But his photo is part of a larger image that includes accompanying text. So what does this text say? Is it in support of Navalny? Not at all—quite the opposite. Moreover, a person’s photo and the depiction of a symbol are, after all, different things, aren’t they?” commented Dmitry Novikov, chair of the KPRF Central Committee, on the situation.

On the page of the Leningrad Oblast branch of the KPRF, it was also reported that on 1 August the regional court rejected Apostolevsky’s appeal against his arrest.

Alexei Navalny’s book “Patriot” has been added to the list of “extremist” materials. This information appeared on the Ministry of Justice’s website.

On 8 July, the Noyabrsk City Court (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District/Okrug) fined local resident Aleksandr Farafonov 30,000 roubles (approx. US$330) over five posts on VKontakte under the protocol for “discrediting the army” (Art. 20.3.3, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The independent outlet Verstka drew attention to the court ruling.

One of the posts was published by Farafonov in July 2022. According to the ruling, the post contained an image with the caption “I love Putin,” “in which a commonly recognised symbol expressing emotion is disguised as the Ukrainian flag.”

Farafonov himself told Verstka that the post in question showed a photo of the “I love Putin” monument with a heart painted in the colours of the Russian flag. Media outlets had previously reported that, when illuminated, the heart would display the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

The protocol also cited other posts: about the death of Alexei Navalny, an image of a toilet “styled with AI to look like a portrait of Putin,” and a photograph of a soldier wearing a patch of the ‘Russian Volunteer Complex’ or “something like that.”

On 11 July, the Komsomolsky District Court in Tolyatti, a city on the Volga River, fined a local woman 30,000 roubles (approx. US$330) under the law on “discrediting the army” (part 1, article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The outlet Idel.Realii drew attention to the court decision.

The administrative offence report was filed over a comment to a news story titled “It’s very nice to receive words of thanks from our fighters,” which the elderly woman posted in mid-February. “People, what are you talking about, contract soldiers are not fighters, they’re hired killers, and you are accomplices,” she wrote.

An expert analysis concluded that the elderly woman had described the actions of Russian military personnel “as being linked to killing for money” and gave a negative assessment of them, calling them murderers.

The elderly woman admitted her guilt and expressed remorse. She added that she had posted the comment “without thinking, foolishly,” and promised not to do so again. She also deleted the comment.

The Tolyatti resident added that she receives a pension of 15,500 roubles (approx. US$170) and has no other income. She lives in a rented flat and does not work because there are no suitable jobs for her age near her home. Her son helps her financially.

St Petersburg activist and journalist for the publication “Parni+” Vadim Vaganov said on 29 July that a stone with the word “foreign agent” written on it was thrown through the window of his flat.

“The situation is serious. Today I was called and told that a stone with the word ‘foreign agent’ was thrown through the window of my flat. The windows are broken,” Vaganov writes.

That same day, he learned that his mother had taken ill and was taken to hospital as a result.

On 22 November 2024, the Ministry of Justice added Vaganov to the list of “foreign agents.” For several years, the activist headed “Youth Yabloko” in St Petersburg, and in 2019 ran in the municipal elections in Pushkin. In 2022, Vaganov came out after the Russian Supreme Court’s decision to ban the so-called “International LGBT Social Movement,” which does not actually exist.

Since the beginning of the summer, Magistrates’ Court No. 374 in Tagansky District, Moscow, has received 10 protocols against Ivan Kvast under the “LGBT propaganda” article (Art. 6.21 of the Administrative Code). Mediazona drew attention to this.

Kvast was fined under three protocols on 26 June and 29 July (1, 2, 3), and one of these decisions has already been published. In the court document, Kvast, a Moscow resident, is described as a project manager for “Mangaliba.” This particular protocol was issued over a comic about “the young revolutionary Utena,” for which he was fined 400,000 roubles (about US$4,400). The outcome of the other two protocols is unknown.

Seven out of the ten protocols were received by the court on 29 July, and two more on 2 July.

This summer, four protocols were also drawn up against the legal entity “MangaLiba” for “LGBT propaganda” (1, 2, 3, 4). All of them are scheduled for review on 25 August, with 10 minutes allocated for each case, according to the case records.

“MangaLib” is an online platform and mobile app where users can read comics in the manga, manhwa and manhua genres in Russian. In June, the service gained a new co-owner: Boris Makarenkov, the head of the Russian entity of the Storytel platform and a co-owner of “Litnet.”

Teenagers who filmed videos at the Sretensky Monastery have been charged with “LGBT propaganda” (Article 6.21 of the Administrative Code), reports TASS.

On 18 July, three young people attended a service at the Sretensky Monastery dressed in women’s clothing and filmed several videos there. Two of them have been formally charged, while materials regarding the third young man have been sent by law enforcement to the commission on juvenile affairs. Police also said they have launched an investigation into offences relating to the “insulting of religious feelings” (Article 148 of the Russian Criminal Code) and “violating legislation on freedom of religion” (Article 5.26 of the Administrative Code).

Ivan Apostolevsky, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Leningrad Region and leader of the Communist Party (KPRF) faction, was detained over posts about Alexei Navalny from eight years ago. This was reported by 47news.

Officers from Centre “E” detained Apostolevsky at Moscow Railway Station in St Petersburg as he was returning from a work trip to China.

The reason for the prosecution was Apostolevsky’s 2017 posts about Navalny. The deputy denies having written anything about the politician on social media.

“I don’t post anything like that at all—neither about extremism nor about Navalny. I haven’t been given the case materials yet. I’m sure it’s actually connected to the election campaign. And also to our principled stance on all the issues—about the factory, the waste reform, and the landfills. Do you think they just dug up something from 2017 for no reason?” the deputy told 47news.

15:05 Security forces also summoned Apostolevsky’s associate, Larisa Mukhina, to the police for a report to be filed. This was reported by SOTAvision.

Mukhina is the Communist Party (KPRF) candidate for governor of Leningrad Region. She is accused of violating campaign regulations because of a post on VKontakte. The complaint against Mukhina was filed by Maria Karpova, an employee of the administration in Kingisepp, a town near St Petersburg.

“Citizen Karpova filed a complaint with the police, allegedly claiming that I posted an illegal campaign announcement in the Southern Kingisepp VK group. Of course I don’t have access to that group and I didn’t make such a post. And just as I didn’t distribute illegal campaign materials on 12 July at the district party committee’s office,” said Larisa Mukhina.

The Bakhchisaray District Court in Crimea has fined the director of a nightclub 300,000 rubles (approximately US$3,250) over a Verka Serduchka song played at a disco, according to the court’s press office.

The director of the club “Atmosfera” was found guilty of discrediting the army (Part 1, Article 20.3.3, Administrative Code). He admitted guilt during the hearing.

The protocol was drawn up because, on the night of 26 May, a DJ at “Atmosfera” played Verka Serduchka’s song “Gulyanochka,” which includes the words “Ukraine has not yet perished”.

“The semantic content of these lyrics is aimed at discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation during the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine and at Russia’s policies as a whole,” the court press office said about the song, which was released in 2003.

A protocol for discrediting the army was also drawn up against the DJ, Pavel Korotky, who played the Serduchka song. His case has not yet been considered.

The DJ was detained after the disco video caught the attention of the author of the “Crimean SMERSH” Telegram channel, Alexander Talipov, who is known for reporting on Crimeans with opposition and anti-war views.

After his detention, the DJ was forced to apologise on camera. The club’s director said he personally contacted the police and filed a report on Korotky.

Yaroslav Rasputin, a correspondent for the queer media outlet Just Got Lucky and an employee of the “Parni+” project, has been fined 200,000 rubles (approx. US$2,200) for a post about Transgender Day of Visibility. Rasputin told Mediazona about the decision.

The fine was issued under the article on “LGBT propaganda” online (part 4, article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) by the magistrate judge of court district No. 374 in Moscow. The judge delivered the verdict.

The reason for the fine was Rasputin’s Telegram channel post, which they published on 31 March. In the post, the journalist congratulated trans acquaintances on Transgender Day of Visibility.

After the court’s decision, “Gosuslugi” (a Russian government portal) sent Rasputin a notification for a fine of 400,000 rubles (approx. US$4,400)—twice the amount set by the court.

Earlier in April this year, the journalist was also fined under a protocol for violating foreign agent activity regulations (part 4, article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). The reason was posts that did not carry the “foreign agent” label. The Ministry of Justice listed Rasputin on its register of “foreign agents” in September 2024.

On the afternoon of 26 July, police detained DJ Pavel Korotky, who had played Verka Serduchka’s song “Gulyanka” at a nightclub disco. This was reported by the Telegram channel “Crimean SMERSH.”

In the early hours of 26 July, Verka Serduchka’s song was played at Club Atmosfera in the village of Peschanoye, Bakhchisaray District, in Crimea. After a comment was made, the DJ stopped the track. The video from the disco was noticed by the author of the Telegram channel “Crimean SMERSH,” serial informant Aleksandr Talipov, who then contacted the police.

The DJ was detained and taken to the police station, where a protocol was drawn up under the article on “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). At the station, he was forced to record a video with an apology. According to Talipov, a similar protocol was also drawn up for the club director.

That same day, the nightclub’s Instagram account posted that the staff’s position was: “Crimea is Russia,” and that Korotky was a replacement DJ who “will not work as a DJ in Crimea any more.” The club director told the outlet “Ostorozhno, Novosti” that he personally went to the police and filed a complaint against the DJ.

• The song “Gulyanka” was released in 2003. Its chorus includes: “Songs are flowing, wine is flowing / And the glasses clink, clink, clink in time / Ukraine has not yet perished, if we’re partying like this!”

On 21 July, the Zelenograd District Court in Moscow fined an elderly former military officer with the surname Yegorov under the article on displaying banned symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The decision was highlighted by “Govorít ne Moskva.”

The protocol against Yegorov was drawn up following a report by the chairperson of the same court, who contacted Centre “E” (Centre for Combating Extremism). In May, the elderly man lodged an appeal regarding his claim for delayed wages. According to the text of the ruling, the document contained propaganda for the “Citizens of the USSR” association, which has been banned since 2022. Law enforcement claim that, in this way, the man promoted the activities of the association.

Yegorov did not admit guilt, emphasising that he sent the appeal exclusively to the court and never published its text anywhere else. In his view, this means he did not promote the “Citizens of the USSR.” Nevertheless, the elderly man was fined. The amount of the fine is unknown.

No fewer than 110 electronic books on feminism, LGBT, and sex education have been removed from the Yandex.Books service. Verstka drew attention to this.

The outlet examined which books are no longer available in themed collections previously made by users. On the “Feminism 101” shelf, created nine years ago, 12 out of 14 books have disappeared. Among them are Anna Shadrina’s “Not Married: Sex, Love and Family Outside Marriage,” as well as Susan Sontag’s “On Women.” The latter book was the reason a protocol was drawn up against the independent St Petersburg bookshop Podpisnye Izdaniya under the “LGBT propaganda” article (part 1 of article 6.21 of the Administrative Code).

Another collection on feminism and sex education has seen the removal of Mary Beard’s “Women & Power: A Manifesto,” Andrzej Gryzewski and Przemysław Pilarski’s “HIM: An Intimate Conversation about That Organ,” Tess Holliday’s “My Body Positive: How I Learned to Love the Body I Live In,” and Lena Klimova’s “Real Girl.”

The service has also deleted books about sexuality in the ancient world. No longer available are Robert van Gulik’s “Sexual Life in Ancient China,” “The History of Sexuality III: The Care of the Self” by prominent French philosopher Michel Foucault, as well as Jonathan Eig’s “The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution.”

From shelves featuring LGBTQA literature, books such as Jeanette Winterson’s “Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit” and several others, including English-language titles, have also been removed.

Andrey Tkachenko’s “Sexual Crimes: Chikatilo and Others” has also disappeared from collections.

In mid-May, staff of the publishers Popcorn Books and Individuum were subjected to searches as part of the case concerning the “International LGBT Movement.” Several people have been placed in pre-trial detention.

According to investigators, the accused “out of selfish motives published and sold books promoting the activity of the LGBT movement to an unlimited range of people, among whom were minors.” Detectives considered the distribution of LGBT literature as extremist activity, and claimed that people could become “supporters of the 'International LGBT Public Movement'” as a result of reading such books.

According to Raisa Naumova, director of the regional children’s library named after N. D. Navolochkin, a book featuring the WWF logo was posted on an old version of the library’s website. That version is no longer active.

“And [law enforcement] saw a tiny WWF icon there. The book is from 2009, and it was posted on our site in 2018,” Naumova explained to Mediazona.

She stated that she considers the protocol “an absurd story” and intends to “take it to court,” since the library had previously received no advice from the Ministry of Justice.

“These situations are impossible for us to foresee. I am deeply hurt—I am a patriot, an opinion leader, the director of a legendary regional children’s library—and now we’re being charged under this disgraceful article. I am crushed by this, I am extremely upset,” Naumova said.

The Prosecutor General’s Office recognised the Swiss-based World Wide Fund for Nature as an “undesirable” organisation in June 2023. The agency claimed WWF’s conservation and environmental education activities were being used as “cover for carrying out projects that threaten the security of Russia’s economy.”

In March of the same year, the fund was designated as a “foreign agent.” According to the Ministry of Justice, it received support from foreign sources and, under the pretext of nature conservation, sought to influence authorities in Russia and spread negative information about them.

Following these events, the Russian branch of the fund separated from the Swiss office and announced it had terminated the agreement on using the panda logo and WWF acronym.

On 3 July, the Yakutsk City Court fined stand-up comedian Nyurgun Atakov 10,000 roubles (approximately US$110) over a joke about the colonisation of Indigenous peoples by Russia and discrimination against Yakuts in the country. The news was first reported by the “Torboznoe Radio” channel.

The fine was issued under the article on incitement of hatred (Article 20.3.1 of Russia’s Administrative Code) due to Atakov’s performance, an excerpt from which was published a year ago by the “MARDAN” channel.

During the show, the comedian said that in Russia “one nation has decided that they are above all of us [Indigenous peoples]” and “adores Ukrainians and Belarusians, because with them you can shit-talk Russians.”

In November 2024, the Centre for Combating Extremism (Centre “E”) sent materials to the Centre for Strategic Research under the head of Yakutia. Following this, an administrative case was opened against the comedian, with authorities finding signs of incitement to hatred against Russians in his performance.

Nyurgun Atakov did not attend the court hearing. He has been living in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, for three years, where he continues to work in stand-up and runs the YouTube channel “Turkic Phrasebook.” In his shows, this young man regularly talks about the discrimination faced by Indigenous peoples in Russia.

The 51-year-old Eskova was detained on 10 July, and on 11 July the Central District Court of Sochi sentenced her to 15 days under the article on displaying forbidden symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code). The report was drawn up because of a comment the woman had left in the Telegram channel of the “I Want to Live” project: “There’s nothing to discuss here GLORY TO UKRAINE,” wrote the Sochi resident.

On 21 July, Eskova’s husband learned that she was in a psychiatric and neurological clinic. She had been hospitalised there after spending five days in the special detention centre, where she attempted suicide. He was not informed about what had happened.

It is unknown why Eskova tried to take her own life. Relatives believe she was subjected to pressure in the detention centre. Her husband was able to speak with her for only five minutes. He plans to meet with the clinic’s chief doctor soon to find out what happened to his wife and how long they intend to keep her there.

In addition, Eskova’s husband was not allowed to attend the court hearing in which her report was considered, nor was he told which detention facility she would be serving her sentence in. He later managed to find out where his wife was being held, but a visit was not permitted.

“VKontakte,” at the request of Roskomnadzor, has blocked more than a dozen groups from Vologda, reports 35Media.

The media outlet “EZh” writes that most of these groups contained criticism of Georgy Filimonov, the Governor of Vologda Region, and local officials.

The block affected, among others, the public pages “Vologda Micro-society,” “The North—Homeland of the Brave,” “SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT HERE…,” “Meeting Place Cherepovets,” “Our North,” “REGION35.INFO. Vologda News,” and “ChB Double 2.”

In April, three more groups on VKontakte were blocked for criticising the governor. These were the pages of the “Russian North” TV channel and the “Speech” and “Voice of Cherepovets” newspapers. All these resources are part of the Vologda-based “Media-Centre” media holding.

Vera Otryeshko, an activist from Kazan, was fined over a solo picket held on 24 February 2025 with a placard reading: “There is no path, we must turn back.” The court’s ruling was noticed by “Verstka.”

On 7 May, the Vakhitovsky District Court in Kazan found Otryeshko guilty of “discrediting the army accompanied by calls for unauthorised actions” (Article 20.3.3, Part 2 of the Administrative Code). The activist was fined 90,000 roubles (about US$960).

The ruling records that Otryeshko did not admit guilt and denied involvement in the offence in question.

The protocol against Otryeshko was drawn up on the basis of posts published on Telegram channels “Respublikasy” and “Activatica” on 24 February 2025, marking the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The first post featured a photo of a solo picket in Kazan, showing a person holding a placard reading: “There is no path, we must turn back.” In this phrase, the fragments “Пути н…” (“No path…”) and “сво” (“svo”) were highlighted in red—a visual allusion to “SVO” (the Russian abbreviation for “special military operation”). The picketer’s face was not visible in the photo. “Activatica” had a similar post, but specified that the picket took place near the “Kazan” Family Centre, and included hashtags such as #нетвойне (#nowar).

At the request of the police, staff at Kazan Federal University carried out a psychological and linguistic analysis of these posts. The authors of the analysis considered them to contain signs of discrediting the “goals of the SVO” and encouraging protest actions against the war.

The court’s decision did not state that Otryeshko herself had published these posts—only that she had carried out the solo picket.

The protocol against the communist was drawn up on 2 July. The grounds were a fragment of his speech at a legally authorised rally on 1 May, in which he spoke about fascism in Russia and the involvement of far-right groups in the war in Ukraine on the side of the Russian army:

“Essentially, what we’re witnessing today is exactly the kind of fascisation of the political regime that officials talk about from the podium—except they usually point elsewhere, to the West. ‘That’s where the fascists are, and here in Russia we have a bourgeois democracy.’ But we look around and see—who is their favourite philosopher, Ivan Ilyin, the ideologue of Russian fascism? Could it be our own president’s favourite? We look again and see—who is stirring up national hatred with state funding? Isn’t it that same ‘Ridovka,’ which isn’t just nationalist but truly Nazi? We look—who is fighting in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces? Could it be the so-called Russian fascists, including those with swastika tattoos?”

According to the case materials, the prosecutor’s office considered Krupenko’s mention of far-right involvement in the war in Ukraine on the Russian side to constitute discrediting the Russian army.

On 7 July, the Sovetsky District Court in Tomsk fined Viktor Muchnik, editor-in-chief of the publication “Govorit NeMoskva,” 5,000 rubles (US$55) under the article on participation in the activities of an “undesirable organisation” (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The court’s decision was noted by Mediazona.

According to the decision, the local prosecutor’s office found a video recording of an interview “with a historian and journalist from the city of Tomsk, who, in the form of an interview, shares with listeners their views on the history of Tomsk, Siberia, historical and contemporary figures connected to the aforementioned regions, and also discusses the prospects for separation and the future of Siberia.”

The ruling does not specify the media outlet on whose channel Muchnik appeared, but provides the length of the video, which matches the duration of the “City Code” podcast episode from 19 August 2024, published on YouTube. The podcast is a project of Radio Svoboda (Radio Liberty), which was declared an “undesirable organisation” in February 2024.

“Today our guest is Viktor Muchnik. Historian, journalist, and editor-in-chief of the legendary Tomsk TV company TV2, he talks about the historical and cultural heritage of his native Tomsk, its role in Russian history, the colonisation of Siberia by Russia, and what it means to be a Siberian today: ” as stated in the episode’s written description.

Viktor Muchnik is the former editor-in-chief of the independent Tomsk TV channel TV2. In 2014, the channel was disconnected from broadcasting, and the editorial team continued working as a news agency. In early March 2022, the TV2 website was blocked, and Muchnik announced the closure of the agency. Muchnik himself soon emigrated and, together with former colleagues, launched the “Eyewitnesses” project, dedicated to the lives of people affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The organisers cancelled rapper Jah Khalib’s performance at the “RMK Energy” festival on City Day in Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Urals, reports It’s my city.

Initially, the festival’s press release announced Lesha Svik, Mot, Jah Khalib, Gayazovs Brothers and Big Baby Tape, but a day later the organisers asked for the rapper’s name to be removed from the announcements.

In July, the rapper was supposed to give two concerts in Moscow, but the organisation “Voice of the People” and its chair Sergei Zaytsev complained about the posters, as Jah Khalib had “publicly expressed his love for Ukraine.” The concerts were cancelled. In 2023, Jah Khalib’s performances were also cancelled in St Petersburg and Moscow.

Maria Makhmutova, a resident of Irkutsk (a major city in eastern Siberia), was fined 45,000 roubles (approx. US$500) under the article on “discrediting the army” (Part 1 Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code) after she insulted Russia Day and participants in the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the press service of the Kirovsky District Court of Irkutsk.

On 12 June, Makhmutova posted a video on her Instagram account, which has more than five thousand followers, criticising the Russia Day celebrations and condemning participants in the war in Ukraine:

“What kind of holiday is this, for fuck’s sake? What an awesome holiday—Russia Day. And what, are you fucking proud of something? What are you proud of, for fuck’s sake? That you’re living—scraping the bottom of the barrel? That you have to kill people to buy yourselves cars and flats, for fuck’s sake, and drink like it’s the last day on earth, and wear those fucking medals. Your medals today—they’re a mark for life, a stigma for life, that you’re fucking murderers. <…> If all the SVO [‘special military operation’] people die tomorrow, I’ll drink to that.”

After this, activists from the pro-government “Call of the People” movement reported her to the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General’s Office. On 13 June, law enforcement came to her flat. She refused to open the door and threatened to harm herself. In the end, emergency services workers forced the door and Makhmutova was detained. A protocol was then drawn up against her. She was jailed for 13 days under an administrative protocol for assault (Article 6.1.1 of the Administrative Offences Code), accused of kicking a police officer, and then for a further five days under a protocol for drug use (Part 1 Article 6.9 of the Administrative Offences Code) because of “Corvalol.”

After her administrative arrest ended, the blogger was sent to a pre-trial detention centre under criminal charges of insulting a government representative (Article 319 of the Criminal Code) and using violence against a government representative (Article 318 of the Criminal Code).

The bookshop Falanster has been fined 800,000 rubles (approx. US$8,900), and its general director Boris Kupriyanov 100,000 rubles (approx. US$1,100) under the article on so-called “LGBTQ propaganda” (part 1, article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by Mediazona.

In late May, the court had already issued fines to both the shop and Kupriyanov on charges related to an “undesirable organisation.” At that time, Falanster was fined 80,000 rubles (approx. US$900), and its co-founder received a fine of 40,000 rubles (approx. US$450). The reason was a book by Belarusian anarchist and political prisoner Igor Olinevich about being held in the KGB detention centre in Minsk. Russian law enforcement decided the book had been published with the support of the “Anarchist Black Cross Federation,” which is considered an “undesirable organisation” in Russia.

We originally wrote that Kupriyanov was fined under the article for participating in the activities of an undesirable organisation (article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences), based on information from the “Word to the Defence” channel. This article is also listed in the case summary. However, it is clear from the published decision that Kupriyanov was found guilty specifically of ‘LGBTQ propaganda.’ We apologise for the error.

The Smolninsky District Court in St Petersburg has fined the European University 250,000 roubles (US$2,800) under an administrative charge of inciting hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Offences Code) towards Russian forensic experts, according to the city’s joint court press office.

The administrative case was prompted by a 64-page analytical report, “How and by Whom Forensic Examinations Are Conducted: Experts in the Context of Interagency Collaboration.” It was published in the journal of the Institute for the Rule of Law at the European University at St Petersburg in 2024.

In September of the same year, the European University’s website featured a news item announcing the release of this report (it has since been deleted, but an archived version remains online). The announcement stated that the report’s authors had examined various aspects of the work of forensic experts in Russia, particularly forensic doctors and criminalists from the expert-criminalist centres of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice. The research was based on interviews with the experts themselves.

In April 2025, the prosecutor’s office took note of the report. At its request, staff of St Petersburg State University submitted their assessment of the report, stating that it contained “signs aimed at denigrating the dignity of a group of people based on their membership of the social group ‘Russian forensic experts.’”

“The signs of denigrating the dignity of the group ‘forensic experts’ are expressed in harm to the professional (business) reputation of representatives of this social group,” the court press office stated.

As reported by Fontanka, a representative of the university requested in court that an expert review of the report be conducted, on the grounds that the accusation was based solely on the opinions of St Petersburg State University staff. The prosecution did not oppose the request, but the court refused the defence’s application.

The university representative also asked for the case to be discontinued. She stressed that the report was compiled from dozens of interviews with experts, lawyers, investigators and judges, meaning the opinions expressed in it were entirely subjective. The defence also argued that the report had been prepared in line with standards of professional ethics, and that it contained no insults or denigration.

Additionally, the university supported its position in court by providing independent reviews of the report from two specialists, including one from the Vinogradov Institute of the Russian Language of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Roman Malozemov, an independent candidate for the Novosibirsk city council in Siberia, has been added to the register of “persons affiliated with foreign agents.” He received notification of this after he had collected the signatures required to stand for election. The document was published by the Telegram channel “Sibirsky Express.”

Malozemov registered as a self-nominated candidate from constituency No 6. The day after he announced he had collected all the necessary signatures, he was handed a notification from the head of the district election commission. The document stated that, according to a Ministry of Justice check, Malozemov “has the status of a person affiliated with a foreign agent.” The check, according to the notification, was conducted on 25 June 2025—the very day Malozemov began collecting signatures for his candidacy.

Malozemov does not know exactly which organisation he is supposedly “affiliated” with. “I don’t know which foreign agent I’m affiliated with—maybe Monetochka, because I listen to her on Yandex Music,” he commented.

Malozemov also noted that he was unable to check the register, as it is closed to the public. The self-nominated candidate has started collecting signatures again and is also preparing a court claim.

The concept of persons “affiliated” with “foreign agents” appeared in Russian legislation in 2022. It is a list of individuals whom the Ministry of Justice has not included in the official “foreign agent” list, but whom it nevertheless considers connected to those people and organisations already designated. The “affiliated persons” list is not public, and it is unknown who is included or on what grounds. As of November 2023, there were 861 people in the “register of persons affiliated with foreign agents.” Ministry of Justice staff say that most were connected with “activity during the preparation and conduct of elections.”

A resident of Tula Region has been fined 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) for anti-war graffiti on an asbestos pipe. This was reported by the regional Interior Ministry press service.

The 59-year-old man was found guilty under the article on “discrediting” the Russian army (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). According to the claim by the Telegram channel “Tula. ExtremiZm,” which is linked to law enforcement, the man had drawn the Ukrainian flag on the pipe and written the words “US ARMY” and “HIMARS.”

The St Petersburg City Court has received a lawsuit from the prosecutor’s office demanding that the song “Turn Off the Anthem” by Pornofilmy be recognised as extremist material. This was reported by Daria Lebedeva, head of the press service for the St Petersburg courts.

Prosecutor’s office specialists concluded that the track contains psychological and linguistic indicators of incitement to commit crimes based on political, ideological, racial, national, and religious grounds. The experts also believe the song calls for violence against government authorities and their representatives.

The prosecutor’s office is also asking for the song “Turn Off the Anthem” to be added to the federal list of extremist materials.

The respondents named in the case are Pornofilmy vocalist Vladimir Kotlyarov, drummer Kirill Muravyov and bass guitarist Alexander Agafonov.

The hearing to consider the lawsuit is scheduled for 13 August.

“Turn Off the Anthem” was released in 2014 as part of the album “Youth and Punk Rock.”

This is not the first song by the band the Russian authorities have attempted to ban. In 2023, links to their track “This Will Definitely Pass” were added to the list of banned materials by Roskomnadzor. In September 2021, the song “Kill the Poor” was declared extremist. Later, the organisation “Network Freedoms” managed to overturn this decision, but in 2023 a court once again declared the track banned.

On 9 July, the Ust-Yansky District Court in Yakutia fined local resident Danil Nevidomsky 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) for allegedly shouting the slogan “Glory to Ukraine.” SOTAproject drew attention to the court’s decision in a post.

He was found guilty under the article concerning the promotion of extremist organisation symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). According to the court’s decision, Nevidomsky uttered the phrase while intoxicated during a conversation with others on the premises of a company dormitory.

The defendant denied any wrongdoing, saying that he did not shout the slogan and that his conversation with witnesses actually took place a kilometre away from the dormitory. In court he explained that during a conflict he had said that “they would be more useful if they were at the special military operation (SVO).” Nevidomsky believes that one of the witnesses falsely accused him due to personal animosity and “because of jealousy towards a woman from a neighbouring organisation.”

44-year-old carpenter Dmitry Gerya was sentenced to five days of administrative detention because of a chain with a trident pendant. The local news outlet “Ostorozhno, novosti” (“Caution, News”) drew attention to a ruling by the Golovinsky District Court in Moscow ordering the resident’s arrest.

According to the court, on 6 July Gerya went outside wearing a chain with a white metal pendant shaped like a trident emblem. The court held that by doing so, he “committed public demonstration of the Nazi symbolism of extremist organisations” (part 1, article 20.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences).

The man pleaded guilty and said that a friend had given him the chain 10 years ago.

“After drinking, he decided to put it on without paying attention to the image or the inscription,” the court ruling says.

In addition to the administrative detention, the court also ordered the confiscation of Gerya’s pendant.

On 10 July, the Tagansky District Court received four protocols: against actress Yana Troyanova, the author of the podcast “Decline of the Empire” Andrei Aksenov, journalist Fidel Agumava and member of the “Freedom of Russia” legion Aleksei Baranovsky. Protocols were drawn up against them for failing to include a “foreign agent” disclaimer in their publications (part 4, article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

On 11 July, the same court received a protocol against economist and former Putin adviser Andrei Illarionov, who was accused of failing to submit a quarterly report (part 2, article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences). However, his case was transferred from the Tagansky Court to another court according to jurisdiction.

Three more protocols under the article on failure to provide a report were submitted to the Basmanny Court on 10 and 11 July. They were filed against singer Monetochka, journalist Anna Narinskaya and Alexander Shvarev, whom the Ministry of Justice considers one of the authors of the Telegram channel “VChK-OGPU.”

On 10 July, twenty protocols were immediately submitted to the Khoroshyovsky Court. Eight of them were drawn up against the “Andrei Rylkov Foundation for Health and Social Justice” and another 12 against its founder, Anna Sarang. In all these cases, they are accused of failing to provide a report. The foundation worked to defend the rights of people who use psychoactive substances, helping them access treatment and resolve legal issues and mental health problems. Last summer, Sarang reported that the foundation ceased operations in December 2023 after losing funding due to its “foreign agent” status, assigned back in 2016.

On 30 June, the Pervomaysky District Court in Murmansk fined Yuri Sergeyev, a staff member of the environmental group 'Bellona', for participating in the activities of an “undesirable organisation” (Article 20.33 of the Administrative Code). The court’s press service reported this, as noted by Mediazona.

Sergeyev was given a fine of 5,000 roubles (about US$55). According to the court ruling, the administrative case against the environmentalist was initiated because his photo and description appear in the staff section on the website of the international environmental movement 'B'.

The case concerns the Norwegian environmental foundation Bellona, which was recognised as an “undesirable organisation” in Russia back in 2023. Bellona campaigns, among other things, for reducing black carbon emissions from maritime transport.

Mediazona notes that from 2020 to 2022, Sergeyev headed Bellona’s office in Murmansk, a major city in the far northwest of Russia. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he emigrated to Lithuania.

A police van is parked near the bar. According to preliminary information, several people were detained. One person who reported the events said that attendees were questioned about their attitude toward the war in Ukraine, LGBTQ issues, and certain banned organisations. The security forces also checked the guests’ social media profiles.

The band Chéterio is a project of performer Natasha Chéterio. In 2024, the singer released a music video for the song “Suspended Sentence.”

20:55 Police detained singer Natasha Chéterio, but soon released her. One of the witnesses reported this to OVD-Info.

Chéterio and four others were taken to Police Station No. 5. A few people, including some minors, remain at the station, waiting for their parents to arrive.

As reported by SOTAvision, one person was forcefully detained after arguing with officers. They were handcuffed. There are no police officers left inside the bar.

21:35 The young person who was forcefully detained and handcuffed has now been released. They themselves told OVD-Info about this.

Six administrative offence reports for so-called “LGBT propaganda” (part 3 of article 6.21 of the Administrative Code) have been drawn up against blogger Veronika Koshkina. Mediazona reported on the case files, which are listed in the database of Moscow city courts, in these records.

It is not known what triggered the administrative proceedings. Koshkina runs an Instagram blog about her life and travels with her girlfriend.

The Leninsky District Court of St Petersburg has fined LGBTQ priest Alexander Khmelev 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) under the article on “discrediting” the Russian army (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by the outlets “78” and “Bumaga.”

The reason for the administrative proceedings against Khmelev was a number of YouTube videos featuring him. The specific statements attributed to the priest were not disclosed.

Citing an unnamed source, the outlet “78” also reports that authorities are currently considering whether to open criminal and administrative cases against Khmelev “for the creation of an extremist community and promotion of LGBTQ ideology.”

As Khmelev told the LGBTQ publication “Parni+,” he served as an altar server in the Russian Orthodox Church from 2005 to 2012. He later joined the True Orthodox Church, where he was ordained as a priest. Eventually, he became a minister in the Association of Christian Eucharistic Communities and founded a community for LGBTQ Christians in St Petersburg.

In June 2025, the Ministry of Justice listed Khmelev in the register of “foreign agents.” According to the Ministry, the priest participated in creating and distributing materials from other “foreign agents” and “undesirable organisations,” and spread false information about decisions by Russian authorities.

On 12 July Alexander Khmelev left Russia. This was reported by lawyer Vladimir Vasilenko.

He stated that the priest left the country “after threats of persecution by law enforcement, voiced via anonymous Telegram channels.” Khmelev’s cat remains in Russia, and the lawyer is looking for a home for it.

Yesterday, several channels and outlets, including Mash na Moyke, the outlet “78,” and the law enforcement-affiliated resource “Operativnye Svodki”, published information that Khmelev may face several administrative and criminal cases. In particular, “for creating an extremist community and publicly promoting LGBTQ ideology.”

The Sverdlovsk District Court in Irkutsk fined local resident Anton Tkachenko 10,000 rubles (approximately US$110) on 19 June under the article on inciting hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences) against the social group “hunters.” The research centre Sova has drawn attention to the case file on the court’s website and the news story on its own site.

The fine was handed down over a comment on a post about the Ministry of Natural Resources dropping a controversial draft of new hunting regulations which proposed extending the hunting season for brown and Himalayan bears.

The Sova Centre noted: “We do not know exactly what Tkachenko wrote. However, we have doubts as to whether hunters can be considered a vulnerable group in need of special protection from manifestations of hatred.”

The Tushinsky District Court in Moscow fined elderly military veteran Eduard Goida 30,000 roubles (approx. US$325) under the article on “discrediting” the Russian army (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by “Ostorozhno, novosti” (“Careful, news”).

Earlier, it had been reported that a protocol had been drawn up against Goida over some “conversation in the street.” It has now become known that the reason for the fine was a conflict with his neighbour, Sorokina. The woman was creating graffiti depicting soldiers and the words “Salute to you, soldier of Russia.” Goida called Russian army soldiers “criminals and occupiers” and also said he would spoil the graffiti if it included the St George’s Ribbon or the letter “Z.” Sorokina reported her neighbour to the authorities.

In court, Goida said that he had served in the army for many years and respects the St George’s Ribbon, and he also provided a certificate confirming his disability.

Three reports have been drawn up against the Mangalib manga fan club under the article on “LGBTQ propaganda” (Art. 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing the court’s press service.

Previously, a report had already been drawn up against Mangalib for “LGBTQ propaganda” among minors (part 2 of Art. 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The court will consider this case on 28 August.

The reports have been submitted to the Tagansky District Court in Moscow. The reason for their submission is unknown.

The editor-in-chief of Sport24, Samvel Avakyan, has been fined 200,000 roubles (approx. US$2,250) under the article on LGBTQ propaganda in the media or online (Part 3, Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by TASS.

The decision was made by the magistrate of judicial precinct No. 374 in Moscow’s Tagansky district. Avakyan was held responsible as an official. In the same court, another case against Avakyan has been scheduled for 29 July—this time under the article on LGBTQ propaganda among minors (Part 4, Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

14 July The reason for the fine against the Sport24 editor-in-chief was a news story about the coming out of Czech speed skater Martina Sablikova, who spoke about her relationship with Nicola Zdrahalova, another athlete from the national team. This was reported by Verstka, which drew attention to the published court ruling.

“The information in the article is presented exclusively in a positive light, indicating that the athletes have been in a relationship (as a couple) for a long time, they are happy together, and share a wonderful life. The content is such that it creates a socio-psychological attitude not only of approval for non-traditional sexual relationships but also forms a distorted idea of the social equivalence of traditional and non-traditional sexual relationships,” the court decision states.

The document also references an assessment by the “Main Radio Frequency Centre” under Roskomnadzor, which concluded that the material contains “information promoting non-traditional sexual relationships and/or preferences.”

The news story on the Sport24 website was published in April 2025. It has now been removed. Avakyan, through his representatives, told the court he does not admit guilt.

A protocol was drawn up against Pavel Osipov, an activist with the “Sterlitamak, Breathe!” movement, under the article on the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations on the internet (Part 4, Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences), reports “7×7.”

The court will consider the case on 15 July. According to Osipov himself, the grounds for the protocol were a photo published on social media in October 2024. He took the image from case material in which he was working as a lawyer. The picture shows two young women kissing, one of whom was a figure in an extortion case. According to the activist, the complaint against him was written by a local resident, Viktoria Pivovartseva.

Osipov is known as a campaigner against air pollution in Sterlitamak, a city in Bashkortostan. In 2023, activists held a protest wearing gas masks, and in autumn 2024 they gathered 17,000 signatures on a petition calling for the resignation of officials responsible for the environment. Two years ago, police came to Osipov’s workplace after he was photographed next to a poster saying “For Putin! For victory! For clean air!” during a city run.

A resident of Pskov Region has been fined 30,000 roubles (approx. US$330) for expressing opposition to the war in a forest plantation near a military firing range and unfurling the flag of a foreign state. This was reported by the press service of the Pskov Region courts.

“He responded inappropriately to remarks from military servicemembers about the inadmissibility of such public statements, using obscene language,” the press service noted.

The decision in the case of “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) was handed down by Pskov District Court in Pskov Region, a city near Russia’s north-western border. The press release refers to the citizen held accountable as ‘D.’ On the court’s website there is a record for the case of Alexey Danilov, which is scheduled for hearing on 9 July.