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Automated monitoring (AI) — Page 28
This translation was made by AI
04.09.2026
On 4 September, the Saratov Regional Court rejected the appeal of Nikolai Bondarenko, a Communist Party (KPRF) candidate, and upheld a fine of 1,000 roubles (approximately US$11) for the “display of extremist symbols.” The case was initiated over a Telegram channel post featuring an image of Alexei Navalny, which, according to Bondarenko, he had nothing to do with.
FSB investigators have brought final charges against Denis Popovich and Nikita Ivankovich, adding new articles, including high treason, participation in a terrorist organisation, and illegal handling of explosive devices. According to the investigation, acting on the instructions of Ukrainian military intelligence, they allegedly planned to kill Metropolitan Tikhon and plant an explosive device at the Sretensky Monastery. The accused claim they gave their confessions under torture.
On the central embankment in Perm, a city in the Urals, a young woman stood holding a placard in support of Alexey Ogloblin. On the same day, a court refused Ogloblin’s registration for the local elections for the third time.
Novaya Gazeta published a statement after being designated a “foreign agent,” in which it called for an immediate ceasefire and peaceful negotiations. The publication also stressed the priority of human rights and freedoms.
In Nizhny Novgorod, a large city in central Russia, the 'Party of the Elderly' has filed a lawsuit seeking the removal of Dmitry Smirnov, the Yabloko candidate for the State Duma, over a photo of Lemmy Kilmister with a German cross published on 29 December 2015. The court will consider the lawsuit on 7 September, and Smirnov has also been charged under the article on displaying banned symbols (Article 20.3 of the Administrative Offences Code).
The Tbilisi City Court has ruled to extradite Mikhail Timofeev, a former colleague of ex-Governor of Khabarovsk Krai Sergei Furgal, to Russia. Timofeev was detained in Georgia on 23 January, despite his serious health condition, disability, and the expiry of the statute of limitations.
Irkutsk television companies refused to broadcast election campaign videos by the Yabloko party candidates Pavel Kharitonenko and Petr Mekhonoshin, instead sending their videos for review. The administration also did not approve Mekhonoshin’s request to hold a meeting with voters in the format of a rally in Akademgorodok.
The Petrogradsky District Court of St Petersburg has sentenced Lyudmila Smirnova to three days of administrative detention under the charge of disobeying the police (Part 1, Article 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). According to the court, on 2 September Smirnova refused to hand over electronic signatures to police officers during a search at the office.
Anna Shatunovskaya-Burno, the Yabloko party candidate for the State Duma, was released from the Yakimanka police station after being detained near her home. She spent about five hours at the station.
Police officers and FSB agents have started putting pressure on residents of Kemerovo Oblast, a region in Siberia, who are planning to join a march on 6 September against the area’s social and economic problems. According to the initiative, members of the chat group “Sunday March for Kuzbass” are receiving calls demanding they withdraw from participating, while law enforcement reference an order for a heightened state of alert due to the coronavirus.
On 4 September, the parents of 11-year-old Ira and Polina Potekhina, who have SMA, held a solo protest on Red Square over a dispute regarding their daughters’ treatment. They were then detained and later released by the police. The Chelyabinsk Region health authorities said the family’s situation is under supervision and, by court decision, treatment will continue with a Russian-made medication.
Mikhail Verbitsky was dismissed from the Brazilian National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics on 26 August due to posts on his blog which, according to the administration, contained “offensive and unacceptable content.” In 2025, Verbitsky was arrested in absentia in Moscow in a case concerning the justification of terrorism; in June 2026, he was detained in Armenia at the request of Russia, after which he flew to Israel.
The St Petersburg City Court has declared several books extremist and banned their distribution within Russia, including translations of “War and Peace: The Russian Army in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Georgia and Mass Culture,” “Everyday War, Conflict in the Donbas, Ukraine,” “Queer (ing) Russian Art: Realism, Revolution, Performance,” and “Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House.” The lawsuit was filed by the St Petersburg customs authorities.
St Petersburg candidates from the Yabloko party have received warning letters from the election commission and the prosecutor’s office about the possible discrediting of the army in their campaign videos, and have also faced difficulties when placing materials in the media. Against a backdrop of a low-profile campaign and restrictions on offline campaigning, many candidates are deleting their social media accounts, while political analyst Dmitry Solonnikov predicts turnout above 40% and expects information provocations.
The Ministry of Justice explained the inclusion of Novaya Gazeta in the list of “foreign agents” by citing the publication of false information about the electoral system and accusations of spreading reports from other “foreign agents.” More than 100 people were added to the register of individuals “affiliated” with the outlet, including Nikolay Rybakov, Zoya Svetova and Lev Shlosberg.
The Russian Ministry of Justice has added Sergey Leibgrad, Fyodor Sandalov, Tatyana Tatarinova, the journal Historical Expertise, and the online outlet Novaya Gazeta to the ‘foreign agents’ register. The relevant decision was published on 4 September.
The Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District branch of the Federal Penitentiary Service informed Azat Miftakhov’s wife and defence lawyer that no signs of poisoning were found, even though the defence had not asked about this. Earlier, Elena Gorban had requested that Miftakhov be checked for bodily injuries after he was not connected to the court hearing on 4 August.
In Elista, a city in southern Russia, a criminal case has been opened against the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Narn under the article concerning public insult to the memory of defenders of the Fatherland (Part 4, Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code). According to investigators, they published an article containing an insulting description of Soviet soldiers who participated in the Great Patriotic War.
The Belgorod District Court has fined a local resident 400,000 rubles (approx. US$4,400) in a case concerning the financing of extremist activity (Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Russian Criminal Code). According to law enforcement, in 2021 and 2022 the man transferred 200 rubles (approx. US$2.20) to 'Artpodgotovka' and sent a letter of support to the organisation’s email address.
The Moscow City Court upheld the 15-day administrative arrest of Sergei Demin for a protest at the Solovetsky Stone on 30 August. According to the police, he was arrested for disobedience while being taken to the police station.