News

Irina Khakamada’s appearance in Kazan, a city on the Volga River, was cancelled following a complaint from local deputies. This was reported by Idel.Realii.

The masterclass, “The Tao of Life: Three Steps to Success,” was scheduled to take place on 20 April at the Korston shopping centre. For unknown reasons, visitors were first evacuated from the shopping centre and, some time later, Khakamada announced that the event would be cancelled. She told those gathered that she had not been given permission to hold the masterclass.

The day before, Eduard Sharafiev, a member of the State Council of Tatarstan who took part in the war against Ukraine, and Alfred Valiev, a deputy of the Kazan City Duma, said they had contacted the prosecutor’s office demanding the cancellation of the business speaker’s appearance.

In December 2022, Khakamada gave an interview to RTVI: during the conversation, she said that none of her acquaintances had been conscripted, as there were “no idiots” among them. Later, this part of the interview was removed.

Previously, Khakamada’s appearances were also cancelled in Irkutsk, a major city in Siberia, and Voronezh, a large city in European Russia.

A protocol for “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3, Part 1 of the Administrative Offences Code) has been submitted to the Vakhitovsky District Court of Kazan, concerning a person who has the same full name as the headteacher of School No. 12, Rozaliya Kozlovskaya. OVD-Info drew attention to this fact.

The case was assigned to Judge Artur Kiselev on 18 April. A hearing date has not yet been set.

The reason for the protocol is not yet known.

Rozaliya Kozlovskaya is the headteacher of the prestigious Kazan School No. 12 “Mishpahteinu,” located in the Vakhitovsky District. Local media call it a “Jewish school.” In the late 1990s, ethno-cultural classes were established there; on the anniversary of this event in 2024, the head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, visited the school. “We are ORT Mishpahteinu School: Jewish traditions combined with quality education,” reads the description of the school’s page on VKontakte.

Kozlovskaya has been running the institution since 2019; before that, she was the director of the Kazan Technical College of Surface and Underground Electric Transport.

OVD-Info found no public statements by her about the war, and her VKontakte page is blocked by the social network.

At the request of Roskomnadzor, Apple has removed the DVPN VPN service from the Russian App Store. The developer, Alexander Litreev, wrote about this on his Telegram channel.

“Naturally, this is absolutely illegal and we will put pressure on Apple for such antics, including through the courts,” he said. Litreev also noted that the development team had not received any letters or requests from the Russian authorities, and that there was no court ruling ordering the block.

“Apple blindly complied with this illegal demand, in effect making itself complicit in censorship. This is not only a flagrant violation of the law but also an act of support for a dictatorial regime that is waging the largest war in Europe since the Second World War and committing war crimes,” reads his statement.

The Ministry of Justice claimed that the “Novosibirsk 2020 Coalition” “conducts political activity, disseminates information and materials intended for an unlimited audience, while under foreign influence.” The agency believes Kaverzina should have submitted a statement declaring her “intention to operate as a foreign agent before beginning such activity.”

The former deputy stated:

“If I seriously answer the question: ‘Who leads the Coalition? ,’ the answer is simple, really: divine providence. Somehow, everything always comes together without any special effort, no one does anything in particular, it just happens on its own. Really, without divine providence, there’s no other way to explain how the Coalition survives.”

Olga Nechaeva noted that the court imposed the minimum possible fine on Svetlana Kaverzina.

The Ministry of Justice designated the “Novosibirsk 2020 Coalition” as a “foreign agent” in August 2024. The agency stated that its members include former Novosibirsk deputies Svetlana Kaverzina, Anton Kartavin, Helga Pirogova, and Sergey Boyko. Several months before this, the Ministry of Justice had designated all four as “foreign agents.” Later, Kaverzina and Kartavin were stripped of their mandates due to their “foreign agent” status.

Lolita’s concert in Izhevsk was cancelled following a denunciation by pro-war activists. RusNews reports this.

The performance was due to take place at the Ak­sion House of Culture. Around half the tickets had already been sold. The event announcement has disappeared from all ticketing platforms. The media were told by the House of Culture that the concert is cancelled.

The day before, pro-war activists from the 'Council of Fathers of Udmurtia', the 'Russian Community', and the 'Union of Donbas Volunteers' had demanded that the Izhevsk administration and the Ak­sion House of Culture ban Lolita from performing in the city.

In January, Lolita’s concerts were cancelled in Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk. Representatives of the venues said this was due to force majeure circumstances.

The Central District Court of Chelyabinsk has sentenced photographer Sergei Likhvatsky to 11 days in jail over a photo featuring the letter “N.” This was reported by the Telegram channel “Chelyabinsk of the Future.”

The photographer was found guilty under the article on displaying extremist symbols (Art. 20.3 of the Administrative Offences Code). Likhvatsky was charged over a post he made on VKontakte on 2 July 2018 in a group opposing the construction of the Tominsky Mining and Processing Plant.

The post featured a photo of a banner with the letter “N”—a symbol of Alexei Navalny’s presidential campaign. According to Likhvatsky’s acquaintances, the photo was reported by a certain citizen named Bogdanov.

The Cheboksary District Court in Chuvashia has fined Vitaly Borisov, who is currently serving a sentence in Penal Colony No. 6 of the republic, under the administrative charge of “discrediting the Russian army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code) for performing a song of his own composition in front of other inmates. The court ruling was published on the court’s website, and the outlet Idel.Realii drew attention to it.

The man was fined 30,000 rubles (approx. US$330). The full lyrics of the song were removed from the court decision; only a few quotations are cited.

According to the ruling, Borisov performed his original song for inmates in the colony’s assembly hall on 5 January. The acting head of the colony instructed the head of the Criminal Law Department at the Law Faculty of Cheboksary Cooperative Institute (the individual’s name is redacted in the document) to review the lyrics.

According to the expert opinion, the lines: “…heroism among people in Russia looks like this. One hundred and fifty million against forty, with a nuclear club behind us…”; “… I found it dishonourable to strike from behind, and to launch rockets from afar, shining brightly…”; “… Two Vladimirs are fighting, and the people are dying, but one fights for truth, while the other only lies…” were deemed to discredit the army, contain false information, “influence the subconscious of inmates negatively, and create a false impression of the special military operation.”

Three inmates in the colony stated that from the song lyrics it “became clear to us that he demeans our country, believes that the Russian Federation attacked Ukraine, considers us to be aggressors and thus discredits our Army and the President of the Russian Federation,” the decision says.

Borisov did not admit guilt, stating that in the song he expressed his “personal vision and opinion about the events taking place in the country.”

A court in Tyumen, a major city in western Siberia, has sentenced Nikita Gribkov, an associate of politician Yekaterina Duntsova, to 10 days’ detention over a post featuring the white-blue-white flag. This was reported by URA.ru.

The young man was found guilty under the article on public display of prohibited symbols (Art. 20.3 of the Administrative Code). A symbol of the Freedom of Russia Legion was found in his social media. Journalists did not specify exactly which symbol was in question, but it is most likely the white-blue-white flag.

Gribkov was detained on 15 April. On the same day, according to the party branch secretary Veronika Bezmenova, his home was searched. It is unknown whether the investigative actions are related to any criminal case.

In Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Urals, the Piotrovsky bookshop cancelled the presentation of a book by architect and anti-war activist Polina Ivanova after complaints from pro-government Telegram channels. The local outlet It’s my city drew attention to the incident.

The presentation of the book, “A Guide to Sverdlovsk and Yekaterinburg,” was scheduled for 16 April. The event announcement was highlighted by the UralLive Telegram channel, which is affiliated with Vladimir Solovyov’s team, as well as by the right-wing “Russian Community” movement.

The publication alleged that Ivanova “promoted protests against the Z symbol at the Ural State University of Architecture and Arts,” “encouraged cultural institutions in Yekaterinburg to write a letter against the ‘special military operation’ (SVO),” took part in anti-war protests, collaborated with Yevgeny Volkov (the brother of politician Leonid Volkov), and used the Ukrainian flag as her profile picture.

Following these publications, the bookshop cancelled Ivanova’s appearance, citing “reasons beyond its control.”

The Kirovsky District Court of Yekaterinburg fined Roman Gilmanov, an employee of the Sverdlovsk Region Ministry of Education, 30,000 roubles (approx. US$330) under the article on “discrediting the Russian army” (Art. 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by the outlet 7×7.

Gilmanov was detained on 25 March at the opening of an exhibition outside the Church on the Blood. At the church, a monument called “The Pipe” had been installed, dedicated to the advance of Russian troops into Sudzha (Kursk Region), and representing a copy of the gas pipeline through which Russian soldiers entered the town. The official approached the monument with a placard opposing the installation of this object. He was detained and jailed for 15 days under the article on “disobeying the police” (Art. 19.3 of the Administrative Code). Later, another police report was filed against him.

On 14 April, the Moscow City Court discontinued administrative proceedings for “discrediting the army” (part 1, article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) against comedian Danila Poperechny. This is stated in the case file in the database of the capital’s courts, as noted by Mediazona.

The case was discontinued due to “lack of corpus delicti”—meaning no offence was found.

In November 2024, Poperechny was fined 50,000 roubles (US$550) over an Instagram post from 24 February 2022 that included the phrases “no to war” and “we don’t want war.” “My mother, my younger brother, and my friends live in Ukraine. I finished school there, I lived there for many years, I celebrated my graduation there, and Kyiv and Ukraine are a place that is dear to me. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, we are against the war. I am in shock; I couldn’t even imagine that I’d be recording this video this morning. We are against military actions in any form. […] Please, we don’t want war,” the comedian said in the video.

Poperechny and his defence appealed the verdict. The comedian’s lawyer insisted that the period for prosecution over this post had long since expired. Police only paid attention to the post in July 2024.

In March 2022, Poperechny left Russia. He recorded a video explaining that this decision was due to the war in Ukraine and his fear of being detained for anti-war statements. He had received threats before leaving.

In June 2024, the comedian was placed on the “foreign agents” register because of his public activities and statements against the war.

On 14 April, administrative protocols were filed with Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court against the legal entity Falanster bookshop and its co-founder Boris Kupriyanov. The case cards were flagged by Mediazona.

The shop and Kupriyanov are being charged with participating in the activity of an “undesirable organisation” (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences). Hearings are scheduled for 26 May. The Tverskoy Inter-District Prosecutor’s Office is acting as one of the parties in the case.

The organisation with which cooperation formed the basis for these protocols is unknown.

In March, staff from the prosecutor’s office came to Falanster for an inspection. As reported by publicist Ivan Davydov, police seized several books against a receipt, including works by philosophers Michel Foucault, Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin and Susan Sontag.

In February, Falanster cancelled the presentation of Kirill Medvedev’s book “Antifascism for All. Revised and Expanded” due to reports from pro-government activists. Among other things, the book covers the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist from Novaya Gazeta Anastasia Baburova.

The page of former Severodvinsk city council deputy (Arkhangelsk region) and Shiyes defender Sergey Ilyukhin was blocked on VKontakte at the request of Roskomnadzor. He reported this on his Telegram channel.

The page has been unavailable since 1 April. “They blocked it because of my views, for criticising Putin and his Eat Russia party. Eight thousand subscribers, lots of information and videos—all down the drain,” the man wrote.

There was a raid at Mono, a club in Moscow, overnight. This was reported by the Telegram channel “Ostorozhno, novosti” (“Caution, news”).

Shortly after midnight, law enforcement officers in masks stormed into the venue. Everyone present was forced to the floor, face down.

Some attendees noted that the security staff themselves opened the door for the police, and that entry to the club was free that evening. “They really made a point of saying entry was free tonight. I haven’t seen that since 2022. And there were very few people,” “Ostorozhno, novosti” quoted one of the guests as saying.

This is not the first raid at the club. In 2024, law enforcement officers explained their visit as a fight against “LGBT propaganda.”

The Butyrsky District Court in Moscow has fined rapper Ligalize (Andrey Menshikov) 50,000 roubles (US$550) for failing to remove a link to his joint music video with Mr Freeman, who has been designated a “foreign agent.” This was reported by the press service of the capital’s courts and highlighted by Mediazona.

Ligalize was found guilty under the article for failing to comply with a warning to remedy a violation of the “foreign agents” law (Part 42 Article 19.5 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

In June 2023, animator Pavel Muntyan, known as Mr Freeman, released a music video for Ligalize’s song “Peace! To Your! Home!.” The video contains real footage of Russian soldiers and destruction in Ukraine. In Russia, access to the video has been blocked.

Ligalize posted a link to the video on his Telegram channel. In autumn 2024, the rapper was issued a warning demanding that he delete the post because it did not mention Pavel Muntyan’s “foreign agent” status. When he failed to remove the link, an administrative case was opened against him.

Pavel Muntyan, who is currently in exile, was designated a “foreign agent” in April 2023. He was arrested in absentia on charges of spreading military “fake news.” Ligalize himself was declared a “foreign agent” at the end of 2024.

The Ministry of Culture has refused to issue a distribution certificate for the Norwegian animated film “Spermageddon” (original title: Spermageddon). This was reported by Interfax and noted by Mediazona.

The animated film tells the story of the lives of two sperm cells inside the scrotum of a “Star Wars” fan. According to the plot, they embark on a journey towards the egg cell when their owner meets a girl.

“Spermageddon” was set to be released in Russian cinemas on 19 June. Activists from the Sorok Sorokov movement opposed this. They called the film “the belch of a decaying Europe” and filed a complaint with the Investigative Committee.

Law enforcement officers carried out an inspection at the St Petersburg bookshop “Podpisnye Izdaniya,” reports “Mash na Moyke.” According to the channel, several dozen books “with signs of so-called LGBT ideology” were seized from the shop.

The shop confirmed to “Ostorozhno Media” that law enforcement took away books mentioning LGBT.

The Telegram channel “Krovavaya Barynya,” without citing a source, writes that law enforcement had questions about several books published by Ad Marginem. The publishing house’s editor-in-chief, Mikhail Kotomin, said he does not know exactly which books are being referred to:

“Our books often appear in various insane lists that wander, like the Flying Dutchman, between different organisations. Often, some very peculiar titles come up, like Walter Benjamin’s ‘One Way Street’ or Michel Foucault’s ‘Discipline and Punish.’ Which specific books from our range have raised suspicions this time, I do not know.”

“Mash na Moyke” clarified that law enforcement came to inspect the shop following a tip-off.

14:30 After the inspection, prosecutors gave “Podpisnye Izdaniya” a list of 48 books that must be removed from the shop’s shelves, writes “Rotonda.”

According to shop staff, this list included six books about feminism. Among them, for example, is a collection of essays by the American writer Susan Sontag titled “On Women” and the essay collection “7 Texts on Feminism. Disarming Gender,” which includes contributions from, among others, activist Darya Serenko.

Prosecutors are also demanding the removal from shelves of works by journalists Valery Panyushkin and Sergey Pakhomenko, who have been labelled “foreign agents” in Russia, as well as the novel “Doctor Garin” by Vladimir Sorokin.

At least 26 accounts belonging to “foreign agents” have been blocked on the Boosty fundraising platform. This was reported by the outlet Verstka.

Links to these accounts are listed in the Ministry of Justice’s “foreign agent” registry. In total, the ministry’s list provides 53 links to accounts belonging to individuals and organisations labelled as “foreign agents.”

According to Verstka, in the first half of April, accounts belonging to journalists Tatyana Felgengauer and Masha Borzunova, sports commentator Alexander Shmurnov, columnist Yulia Latynina, comedian Mikhail Schatz, the media outlet ASTRA, activist Darya Heikinen, and film critic Anton Dolin were among those blocked.

The politician Elvira Vikhareva was the first to write about the mass blocking of “foreign agent” accounts on Boosty on 8 April.

ASTRA reported on its Telegram channel that Boosty blocked the outlet’s account twice, causing two staff members to lose their pay. The platform explained to the outlet that the blocking was connected to clause 8.6 of Boosty’s agreement.

“Clause 8.6 of the agreement states that the service may delete a user’s account ‘to comply with applicable law or procedure or at the request of a court, law enforcement agency or other administrative or state authority,’ <…> or if you ‘provided inaccurate, fraudulent, outdated, or incomplete information during registration or afterwards,’ or if ‘the company has received complaints about your performance or behaviour,’” Astra quotes the service’s explanatory comment.

The online cinema service Amediateka censored the American TV series “The White Lotus,” cutting references to the war in Ukraine, certain sexual practices and drugs. The Telegram channel “Ostorozhno, novosti” (draws attention to this).

For example, the series had a scene cut in which one of the characters, Valentin, says that he is from Russia, but left the country before the war. The Russian version also omits scenes discussing and using drugs.

Finally, episodes mentioning particular sexual practices were also censored.

Correction: An earlier version mistakenly stated that Valentin left Russia because of the war.

The Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow has fined political scientist Ilya Matveev 10,000 roubles (approximately US$110) for taking part in an episode of Meduza’s podcast about the killing of Navalny. This was reported by “Mediazona,” citing Matveev himself.

Matveev was found guilty under the article on participation in an “undesirable” organisation (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The reason for the fine was an episode of Meduza’s news podcast “What Happened,” released on 20 February 2024. The episode discussed the killing of Alexei Navalny and “the challenges now facing Navalny’s allies.”

The Prosecutor General’s Office declared SIA Medusa Project (the legal entity behind “Meduza”) an “undesirable” organisation in January 2023. Russian courts hand out fines to those who work with the outlet: for example, photographer Evgeny Feldman, “What Happened” podcast host Vladislav Gorin, and the outlet’s special correspondent Lilia Yapparova.

The TV channel “Dom Kino Premium” has censored the 2010 film by “Kvartet I,” “What Men Talk About.” This was noted by “We Can Explain.”

Scenes featuring musician Andrey Makarevich and the band Bi-2 were cut from the film, and a map mentioning Odesa was also removed.

A scene involving a Georgian, who talks about police raids targeting Georgian nationals, was censored. In 2006, the Russian authorities deported large numbers of Georgians in response to the policies of Mikheil Saakashvili.

In addition, in the sequel “What Else Men Talk About,” the surnames of actors Anatoly Bely and Maksim Vitorgan were blurred out in the credits. The actors had spoken out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and have since moved to Israel.

On 8 April, the Kuibyshev District Court in St Petersburg registered a report on “discrediting” the military (part 1, article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code) against 84-year-old siege survivor Lyudmila Vasilyeva. The news was highlighted by Bumaga.

The report against Vasilyeva was filed over her solo protest on 24 February. The elderly siege survivor stood outside Gostiny Dvor holding a placard reading: “People, let’s stop the war! We are responsible for peace on planet Earth.” She stood there for around an hour. Police officers approached Vasilyeva but did not detain her.

Vasilyeva received a summons instructing her to appear at police station No. 28 on 18 March to have the report officially filed. However, according to the summons, the elderly woman was supposed to report to the police a day before the letter was delivered to her.

84-year-old Lyudmila Vasilyeva is a regular participant in anti-war protests in St Petersburg. She has been detained several times, but administrative cases have never previously been opened against her. In 2024, she stood as a candidate for governor of the city. OVD-Info featured her story in the article “We still all have to live together, good and bad”.

15:50 The Kuibyshev District Court in St Petersburg has returned the report on Lyudmila Vasilyeva to the police due to errors that prevent its consideration. The press service of the city courts reported this.

The donation collection service Boosty is blocking the pages of ‘foreign agents,’ reported politician Elvira Vikhareva.

“It seems that Boosty is having quite the ‘foreign agent’ day: besides me, pages of at least three other comrades in misfortune have also been blocked. I think there are actually more,” she wrote on her Telegram channel.

According to SOTA, in addition to Vikhareva’s page, the platform has also made unavailable the page of journalist Sergey Auslender. The service has not stated the reasons for the blocks.

Previously, at the demand of Roskomnadzor, Boosty blocked the account of the outlet “To Be Continued” and the donation page of the independent publication “Discourse.”

12:15 Boosty is blocking pages because it complies with Russian law on “foreign agents.” Elvira Vikhareva published a response from the service with this information.

The blocks are connected to a new law regulating how “foreign agents” receive and use funds. “Since the service supports payment methods inside Russia, the platform has been forced to introduce certain changes dictated by this law,” the service said in its response.

The service requires “foreign agents” to forgo closed paid posts and to collect donations as charitable gifts. “You must not write ‘Content purchase,’ ‘Access to closed content,’ ‘Access to exclusive issues,’ or ‘Access to restricted materials,’ ‘ the service administration wrote.

In addition, “Angry Chuvashiya” announced that it has deleted its Boosty page. “Unfortunately, the new changes in Russian law have also affected Boosty’s usage rules. Ninety per cent of our options on the platform have been closed. We’ve made the difficult decision to close our page,” the project wrote.

A woman from Megion (a town in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area, Western Siberia) has been fined 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) for calling Russian soldiers “so-called ‘defenders.’” This was reported by RusNews.

The court judged the use of quotation marks around the word “defenders,” as well as the phrase “so-called,” to constitute “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). According to the case materials quoted by RusNews: “The word ‘defenders’ in the comment is enclosed in quotation marks. By using the phrase ‘so-called’ together with this word in quotation marks, the user is indicating that people defending the country do not correspond to the term ‘defender.’”

The TV channel Dom Kino Premium has significantly censored the satirical film “Day of Radio.” The project “We Can Explain” draws attention to this.

Scenes featuring Maksim Pokrovsky (of “Nogu Svelo”), Ilya Lagutenko (of “Mumiy Troll”), as well as the Ukrainian music group “Vopli Vidoplyasova,” have been cut from the film.

In addition, in the opening credits the names of journalist Mikhail Kozyrev of Dozhd TV (who played one of the main roles), actor Maksim Vitorgan, and Aleksei Kortnev, leader of the band “Neschastny Sluchai,” were blurred out. The roles played by Kozyrev and Vitorgan remain in the film, but with significant cuts.

All the artists who were censored have condemned the war in Ukraine. Pokrovsky and Kozyrev have also been designated “foreign agents.”

Previously, Dom Kino Premium removed a photograph of Alla Pugacheva from the film “Icebreaker.”

In the project’s backup channel last night, it was reported that the main channel was deleted without any prior warning. The authors of “VChK-OGPU” suggest that the leadership of the messenger service was behind this move.

The channel’s removal is likely connected to a decision by the Tagansky District Court in Moscow. On 3 December 2024, the court fined the messenger 4 million roubles (approx. US$44,000) for failing to remove prohibited information (Article 13.41, part 2, of the Code of Administrative Offences). The reason was Telegram’s refusal to take down 13 channels and eight posts, among which was “VChK-OGPU.” The Prosecutor General’s Office had demanded the channels be deleted on various grounds—including allegations of spreading “fakes” and discrediting the Russian military.

In addition to “VChK-OGPU,” five more channels covered by this ruling, which reported on political events in Russia and the war in Ukraine, were deleted today. In each case, new channels appeared at those addresses, noting they were created only today. At the former link for “VChK-OGPU,” there is now a channel called “Pozdnyakov 4.0,” with a cover photo of “Male State” founder Vladislav Pozdnyakov. At the address of another deleted channel, a page now appears called “We Will Win in the Special Military Operation!”

14:03 The Telegram press service claims the “VChK-OGPU” channel was deleted by its owner, according to a report by Mediazona.

“The channel was deleted by its owner, possibly as a result of unauthorised access. We are conducting an investigation,” the press service told the publication.

Shortly before this, the Dossier Centre wrote that the founder of “VChK-OGPU” had confirmed to them that the channel was deleted by the messenger’s administration. They also stated that the account used to register the channel is now blocked.

On 1 April, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow fined Meduza special correspondent Lilia Yapparova 15,000 roubles (approximately US$160). This was reported by the city courts’ unified press service.

Yapparova was found guilty under the article on participation in an “undesirable” organisation (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences). It is not known exactly what led to the fine.

In January 2023, the Prosecutor General’s Office declared SIA Medusa Project (the legal entity of Meduza) an “undesirable” organisation.

Roskomnadzor has blocked the website of the publication Glasnaya following a decision by an “unnamed government agency,” according to a report by Roskomsvoboda.

Glasnaya is described on its website as a “social journalism project aimed at overcoming stereotypes and promoting gender equality in Russian society.” The specific reason for the blocking is unknown.

Roskomsvoboda notes that the project was blocked by a ‘mask,’ meaning all domains and subdomains were affected.

The project was included in the list of “foreign agents” on 4 April.

The editor-in-chief of Vecherniye Vedomosti, Vladislav Postnikov, who was twice arrested in administrative cases for displaying banned symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code), has had their status as a member of the local electoral commission revoked ahead of time. This was reported by It’s My City, which drew attention to the decision by the Verkh-Isetsky Territorial Election Commission in Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Urals.

The decision was made on 3 April, following the entry into force of the Kirovsky District Court of Yekaterinburg’s ruling in the first banned symbols demonstration case.

Since 28 February, Postnikov was arrested twice in succession for 14 days each due to old posts in his Telegram channel featuring photos showing the logos of Navalny’s headquarters and, in one case, the NBP. On 28 March, Postnikov was detained for a second time in a row as he left the detention centre, but soon after, the journalist was released from the police station where he had been taken.

“When this measure of enforcement was applied to him—being taken to the station—the police were obliged to draw up an appropriate report on his transfer, a copy of which, upon request, should have been given to Vladislav. The same applies in the case of an administrative arrest. However, this was not done,” his lawyer pointed out.

The TV channel “Yu” muted the word “abortion” in the latest episode of the reality show “Pregnant by Deception,” as noted by Novaya Gazeta Europe.

The mention of abortion was muted in two segments, one of which featured a participant saying that, according to doctors, she was still within the term to terminate her pregnancy. This version of the episode appeared on the TV channel’s website, as well as on its YouTube and RuTube channels.

Novaya Gazeta Europe notes that although the show previously avoided mentioning abortion or discussed it only in a negative light, the procedure itself was not previously censored by name.

The show “Pregnant by Deception” tells the stories of women who became pregnant by married men. Each episode opens with a disclaimer: “Yu Channel supports traditional family values. A family based on respect and fidelity is the foundation of a strong society.” The same channel also airs two other reality shows about unplanned pregnancy: “Mum at 16” and “Pregnant at 45.”

Yevgeny Malyugin, a member of the Tula branch of the “Rassvet” party, has been fined 100,000 roubles (approximately US$1,100) under the law against “LGBT propaganda” (Part 3 of Article 6.21 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by a Telegram channel connected to law enforcement agencies.

An administrative case was opened against the young man because of photos in his personal Telegram channel.

Malyugin was detained on 27 February. In addition to the “LGBT propaganda” charge, he was also charged with “discrediting the army” (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code).

• The “Rassvet” party was founded in 2024 by former presidential candidate Yekaterina Duntsova. She said her party stands against the war, supports democratic reforms, and calls for the repeal of laws that violate Russians' rights, for instance, the law on “foreign agents.” In May 2024 Duntsova herself was added to the list of “foreign agents.”

Two women from Tomsk have been detained over a video in which they advised marrying a Russian soldier and making money from his death. This was reported by the regional office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Both were made to apologise on camera.

Earlier, a video recording of a podcast appeared on social media, in which the host asked real estate agent Marina Orlova how a woman over the age of 30 could afford to buy a flat. Orlova replied that in such a situation, a woman could marry “a man who is serving in the special military operation,” wait for his death, and then receive a government payout of eight million roubles (about US$87,000).

17:55 Marina Orlova was charged with inciting hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The court sentenced her to 80 hours of community service. This was reported by the “Mily Tomsk” Telegram channel.

The woman admitted guilt and expressed remorse. She does not plan to appeal the court’s decision.

4 April The podcast host, Darya Cherdantseva, was sentenced to 85 hours of community service under the same article, writes “Mily Tomsk.”

Moscow resident David Gevondyan was arrested on 26 March for 10 days over a Ukrainian Insurgent Army flag (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code) and fined three times under the so-called LGBT “propaganda” law (Part 3, Article 6…). The Nagatinsky district court rulings in Moscow were noted by Mediazona.

The court considered one of Gevondyan’s “VKontakte” page images to be a demonstration of banned symbols: it depicted the Ukrainian Insurgent Army flag, the phrase “Russia and the car brand—brothers forever,” and a depiction of two hanged men. It is unknown what exactly this image looks like or what it means. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army was designated as an “extremist” organisation in 2014.

Gevondyan was prosecuted under the LGBT “propaganda” article for three images: one of two men kissing, one of men dressed in women’s clothing, and one of men “dressed in women’s clothing and accessories (children’s hair clips).” The amount of fines imposed on the Moscow resident was not disclosed in the reports.

The Yeltsin Centre has cancelled the performance of the play “I Killed the Tsar,” directed by anti-war theatre director Vladimir Mirzoev.

The message on the centre’s website simply reads: “The performance is cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience.” No reason is given for the cancellation.

The play “I Killed the Tsar” tells the story of the execution of the Russian royal family in 1918. It was written by the playwright Oleg Bogaev and directed by Mirzoev. The production by the Moscow-based theatre troupe “Prostranstvo Vnutri” (“Space Within”) was scheduled for 5 June.

It’s My City reports that the show was cancelled after a post in the Telegram channel “UralLive,” run by a team in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals, associated with propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. The channel described Mirzoev as an “anti-Russian director,” noted that he had signed an anti-war letter, and accused the production of a “controversial portrayal of the execution of the royal family.” The post ended: “Why is the Yeltsin Centre putting on this kind of blood-soaked spectacle? The question is rhetorical.”

On 24 February 2022, the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mirzoev, along with other directors, writers and artists, signed an open letter demanding an end to the war. The authors called Russia’s actions a “disgrace.”

In Nizhny Tagil, a city in the Ural region, Alexander U., who had been sentenced to compulsory labour, was arrested for six days over a sticker featuring the symbols of the “AUE movement,” reports the publication “Mezhdu Strok” citing the press service of the Leninsky District Court of Nizhny Tagil.

As the court told “Mezhdu Strok,” Alexander U., while at the correctional centre hostel, sent a chat sticker “depicting a child with tattoos bearing the AUE symbols on the right and left chest.” He was found guilty of displaying prohibited symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

The Oktyabrsky District Court in Irkutsk has fined the deputy general director of the Irkutsk Electric Grid Company, Aleksei Drobashenko, 30,000 roubles (approx. US$330) under the administrative article on “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by Kommersant.

The decision was issued on 1 April. Drobashenko called the ruling unfair and plans to appeal.

Kommersant writes that previously, activists from the pro-government organisation “NOD Baikal” submitted a report to the authorities about Drobashenko. They asked the prosecutor’s office to investigate him over a post in the “On Duty in Siberia” Telegram channel on 6 January 2025. The activists believe Drobashenko is an administrator of that channel.

In their complaint, the activists wrote that in the January post “the author calls the special military operation ‘tragic February,’ ‘massive madness,’ and describes the Russian army itself as ‘parade-ready.’”

The description of the “On Duty in Siberia” Telegram channel now states that it is run by several people. In the past, some posts were published in the first person. After the court’s decision to impose a fine, a statement appeared on the channel on behalf of Drobashenko, saying that all posts on the channel not signed with his name “are not my own authored publications.”

Drobashenko is known as a PR specialist. He helps Russian military personnel involved in the invasion of Ukraine, makes films about them, and has raised funds for them. One of the participants in the war came to the court yesterday to support him.

Roskomnadzor has demanded that the Telegram channel “Ostorozhno, novosti” remove material about the person killed and those injured as a result of a drone attack on Kharkiv. This was reported by the channel’s editor-in-chief, Sergey Titov, on his personal channel.

The agency insists that this publication “discredits the use of the Russian Armed Forces within the framework of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine” and contains false information.

“The text made no mention whatsoever of the Russian military, just as in all previous publications, it was simply information about those injured, citing the local authorities and accompanied by an image from local social media. A very dry presentation, which until now had always seemed legal,” commented Titov on Roskomnadzor’s demand. The post has now been deleted from the channel.

Titov believes the agency’s demand is “the consequence of creating a register of blogs with more than 10,000 subscribers.” He noted that the letter from Roskomnadzor was sent to the email address linked to the “Gosuslugi” account, which “Ostorozhno, novosti” had used to submit their data for inclusion in the list of channels and social media pages with an audience of over 10,000 users.

The law requiring owners of channels and pages with more than 10,000 subscribers to submit their data to Roskomnadzor came into force in November 2024. According to the plan of the authorities, owners who fail to provide this data to Roskomnadzor will not be allowed to carry advertising or display information about their sources of funding, and social networks will have to restrict access to them.

The Kirovo-Chepetsk District Court has fined prisoner Nikita Zhadanov 10,000 roubles (approximately US$110) over remarks about Russians and the slogan “Glory to Ukraine.” This was reported by the outlet Idel.Realii, which highlighted the decision on the court’s website.

The record was drawn up based on testimony from three other prisoners. They alleged that Zhadanov, in the presence of inmates from one of the units, said that “the Russian population are weak in spirit, consume alcohol,” “are incapable people,” and also voiced the slogans “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!”

The author of the linguistic analysis found that Zhadanov’s words displayed signs of inciting hatred against Russians. The expert’s conclusion, summarised in the court ruling, stated: “The aim of such statements is to provoke feelings of contempt and enmity towards Russians, both as citizens and as military personnel, and to demonstrate a positive attitude towards present-day Ukraine.”

On 26 March, the court found Zhadanov guilty under the article on incitement of hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences). He also admitted his guilt.

The Nevsky District Court of St Petersburg fined Bishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko of the Apostolic Orthodox Church 30,000 rubles (approx. US$320) under a charge of “discrediting the army” (part 1, article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code), according to Mediazona.

The reason for the charge was a video posted on the priest’s Telegram channel on 11 March 2022, in which he discusses the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

The court also viewed the video: “I am endlessly grateful that we are discussing this recording now. Perhaps it was one of my most important speeches or messages. The understanding people had back then, three years ago, is very different today. Today, we have hope as we hear talk of a peace deal, but at that time, nothing was clear,” Mikhnov-Vaitenko said during the hearing.

He did not admit guilt over discrediting the army, but added that he would continue to discredit the idea of resolving conflicts by force.

“What I would like to discredit, and will continue to do so, is the very idea of solving inter-state problems through force. I consistently oppose any kind of fighting. This is a consistent position, based on the saying—please excuse yet another quote—‘blessed are the peacemakers,’” said Mikhnov-Vaitenko (quoted by RusNews).

His lawyer, Andrey Chertkov, argued that the case materials distorted the essence of the priest’s statements. In the video, he was addressing parishioners with an interpretation of the parable of the herd of swine possessed by demons. According to the lawyer, in the charge sheet the police officer “took a series of phrases from different parts of his address” and “created the appearance of a statement by misquoting and taking words out of context.” “The police inspector expressed a subjective opinion in the report,” the lawyer concluded.

He also noted that the statute of limitations for this case had expired.

Priest Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko holds anti-war views. After the start of the Russian invasion, he began helping Ukrainian refugees.

The Meshchansky District Court in Moscow has fined political analyst Ekaterina Schulmann and Central Asia specialist Temur Umarov for their cooperation with the Berlin-based Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, according to TASS and SOTAvision.

Each of them was fined 10,000 roubles (approx. US$110) for “participating in the activities of an ‘undesirable organisation’” (under Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences), as the centre is affiliated with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Last year, the Endowment was declared ‘undesirable’ in Russia.

In Schulmann’s case, the prosecutor’s office, which drew up the report, noted that the political analyst is mentioned as an expert for the Berlin Carnegie Center in the media. The case files also referenced her interview on the centre’s YouTube channel.

Schulmann’s lawyer, Alkhas Abgadzhava, pointed out procedural violations during the hearing: Schulmann’s place of birth was listed incorrectly in the report, and her old passport details were used.

The defence also disagreed with the charge itself: “Participating in activities means facilitating some kind of activity… If an interview with the President of the Russian Federation ends up published on the resources of an ‘undesirable organisation,’ that does not mean the prosecutor’s office would consider them a person facilitating undesirable organisations.”

On 24 March, the Cherepovetsky City Court of Volgograd Region fined local elderly man Nikolai Strebkov one thousand roubles (US$11) for a video featuring ‘FBK symbols.’ This was reported by the SOVA Research Centre.

The man was found guilty under the article on public demonstration of extremist symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Offences Code). A report was filed against Strebkov after police found a video on his VKontakte page containing some symbols from the Anti-Corruption Foundation. He has since deleted the video.

The Uvelsky District Court in Chelyabinsk Region has fined Yuri Gurman, co-chair of the Golos movement, 40,000 roubles (about US$440) for a speech at a public hearing in which he failed to state that he has been declared a “foreign agent” by the authorities. This was reported by 7×7, which noted a post from the court’s press service.

Gurman was found guilty of failing to declare his “foreign agent” status (Article 19.34, part 3 of the administrative offences code).

The court stated that in November 2024, Gurman spoke at a public hearing for residents of Khomutinino—a village in the region—attended by more than 100 people. He addressed the heads of Uvelsky municipal district and Khomutininskoye rural settlement, but “did not state his foreign agent status.”

The hearing discussed the issue of merging rural settlements in Uvelsky district in order to convert it into a municipal district. In the end, the majority of participants voted in favour of the merger.

On 25 March, the Central District Court of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Khabarovsk Krai fined local resident Sergei Averkiev under the article on displaying banned symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Offences Code). The research centre “SOVA” drew attention to the case file.

The administrative protocol was drawn up because of two photos on his VKontakte page which, according to law enforcement, featured the symbols of the banned “I/We are Sergei Furgal” movement.

At the hearing, Averkiev explained that he had posted the photos back in 2020 because he wanted “to express his legal position” and was unaware that the organisation had been designated extremist. He deleted the photos before the court session.

The “I/We are Sergei Furgal” movement was declared an extremist organisation in February 2024.

Roskomnadzor has blocked the website of the Saratov-based media outlet Svobodnye Novosti (fnvolga.ru), the outlet itself reports.

The reasons for the block are unknown.

In October 2024, the outlet’s licence was revoked.

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The editor-in-chief of the Yekaterinburg-based outlet Vecherniye Vedomosti, Vladislav Postnikov, was detained for a second time in a row as he left the special detention centre after serving a 14-day jail term. This was reported by lawyer Georgy Krasnov on his Telegram channel.

SOTAvision writes that Postnikov was due to be released from the detention centre today at 11:30 local time, but at 11:33 he was taken away by the police.

From the special detention centre in Nizhny Tagil—a large city in the Urals—the journalist is to be brought to the Ministry of Internal Affairs office in Yekaterinburg, where a third protocol is to be drawn up against him for banned symbols (article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The lawyer added that the protocol will once again be drawn up “for posts in his Telegram channel from years ago.”

According to the defence, the protocol will be reviewed after lunch at the Akademichesky District Court of Yekaterinburg. The exact time of the hearing is not yet known.

Postnikov has now spent 28 days in the detention centre. He was detained for the first time on 28 February. Back then, the protocol was drawn up against the journalist because of a post from four years ago featuring the logo of Navalny’s headquarters, which were designated as an extremist organisation. The court jailed Postnikov for 14 days. He was meant to be released on 14 March, but was detained again and given another 14 days in jail under a similar protocol—this time for posts from 2020 and 2021 that featured Navalny’s headquarters’ symbols and the NBP logo.

13:35 Vladislav Postnikov has left the police station: officers have not drawn up any documentation to legalise his detention, reports Vecherniye Vedomosti.

“The police officers, […] after putting him [Postnikov] in the car, effectively abused their official powers by unlawfully holding him in the vehicle,” Vecherniye Vedomosti writes.

“Since Vladislav has been a free person since 11:30, when applying a coercive measure such as being brought in under the administrative case, police officers were required to draw up the appropriate documentation regarding his escort, a copy of which they should have handed to Vladislav upon request. The same applies in cases of administrative detention. However, this was not done,” commented the journalist’s lawyer, Ekaterina Kuvaldina.

The outlet emphasises that Postnikov will appear for the drafting of the protocol at the station once he is summoned following proper procedure.

Correction: It was mistakenly stated that Postnikov left the courthouse, not the police station

The Prikubansky District Court in Krasnodar heard administrative cases against blogger Vladimir Vanyan, who was detained following posts in Z-channels. This was reported by the press service of the Krasnodar Krai courts.

For ‘discrediting the army’ (Article 20.3.3, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences), Vanyan was fined 100,000 rubles (approx. US$1,100), and for ‘insulting authorities’ (Article 20.1, Part 3), he received a 50,000 rubles fine (approx. US$550). Yesterday, he was also arrested for 13 days under a protocol for disobeying the police (Article 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

Vanyan was detained after pro-government blogger Vladislav Pozdnyakov posted five short excerpts from the blogger’s YouTube livestream. In the video, the man said: “Karabakh is Armenia, and Krasnodar is Armenia.” Responding to a comment that the FSB “will be waiting for you on the street” for such words, Vanyan replied: “Fuck off, the FSB can suck my dick, we’re waiting, your FSB is a prick.” When asked about his attitude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the blogger said: “What kind of fucking special military operation? I don’t give a fuck either. Look, we’re grilling fucking kebabs, drinking cognac and whisky.”

Pozdnyakov also posted a video of Vanyan’s detention. FSB officers stopped the blogger on the road, pulled him out of the car, forced him face-down on the ground, and put handcuffs on him. The man identified himself and answered questions from the officers, after which he was dragged into a minibus. According to Vanyan, he felt unwell at the time of the detention.

After being detained, Vanyan recorded a video apologising, in which he said he “sincerely asked forgiveness” from the FSB officers and Russian soldiers involved in the invasion of Ukraine. “I am ready to defend Russia with arms in hand <…> I love Russia, I am ready to serve Russia. That’s why I shaved off my beard, tidied myself up—we’ll serve with arms in hand in the special military operation,” the detainee said.