Detentions, trials and pressure over anti-war statements and criticism of the war in Ukraine: Human rights news from Russia, court updates & analysis | 152 related articles

03.07.2025

16:22

On 6 June, the Khasansky District Court in Primorsky Krai sentenced a local resident, Alexei Bedarev, to 12 days in detention for the comment “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!” in a Telegram chat. SOTA reports this.

He was found guilty under the article on displaying symbols of an extremist organisation (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code). In the court’s ruling, it is stated that these slogans are considered symbols of the “Ukrainian National Revolutionary Army” (UNRA).

The comment in question appeared in the chat of the Telegram channel Sasha Shpack Official, which belongs to the blogger and bodybuilder Aleksandr Shpak. In September 2024, Shpak himself was sentenced in absentia to eight years in a penal colony for anti-war posts.

At the court hearing, Bedarev admitted his guilt and stated that he did not know the slogans were associated with a banned organisation.

11:49

Kaluga Oblast

A protocol for “discrediting the army” (part 1, article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) has been drawn up against Yelizaveta Snimshchikova, a representative of the Commissioner for Human Rights in Kaluga region. OVD-Info found a case file on the website of the Zhukovsky District Court in Kaluga region.

Snimshchikova told OVD-Info that the protocol was drawn up because of two of her Telegram avatars: in one, she was wearing a brooch shaped like a heart in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, and in the other, there was a caption reading “No to war.”

After the protocol was filed, she submitted a letter resigning her authority as a representative.

The court will review the protocol on 31 July.

Snimshchikova is a lawyer and mother of three children. She was the ombudsperson’s representative in Tarusa district, where she received appeals from local residents. The regional ombudsperson’s report for 2024 noted that Snimshchikova worked on appeals relating to the rights of children, housing rights, the payment of pensions and social welfare, the provision of housing and communal services, and healthcare.

01.07.2025

18:30

Saint Petersburg

Two lecturers at St Petersburg State University have been fined under the article on “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by TASS, citing Veronika Peshina, a spokesperson for the city courts’ joint press office.

The Kalininsky District Court imposed a 30,000-rouble fine (approximately US$340) on Yury Yakuboviy, Associate Professor at the Department of Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics. According to the press office, he “posted publications discrediting the army in two Telegram channels.”

The second university employee, Aleksandr Zelnitsky, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Theory and Methodology of Teaching Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, was fined 35,000 roubles (approximately US$400) by the Moskovsky District Court of St Petersburg. The press office did not specify what prompted the fine for the lecturer.

At the request of a person involved, information about action against another individual has been removed from this report.

17:33

Sverdlovsk Oblast

On 27 June, the Verkh-Isetsky District Court of Yekaterinburg fined architect Polina Ivanova 40,000 roubles (approx. US$450) under the article on ‘discrediting’ the army (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by Mediazona.

Earlier, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court overturned a fine for the same amount previously handed to Ivanova in this administrative case. The case was then sent to another court for review.

Ivanova was detained on 30 April so that a protocol could be drawn up. The reason was her anti-war post on Facebook, published in February 2022. Because of the detention, the architect had to cancel a lecture on the history of Yekaterinburg, which was planned for the same day.

Two weeks earlier, the Piotrovsky bookshop cancelled the launch of Ivanova’s book, A Guide to Sverdlovsk and Yekaterinburg. This happened after a post from the pro-government channel UralLive, which was circulated by the right-wing Russian Community movement. The propagandists drew attention to the event announcement and began criticising Ivanova for her anti-war stance and alleged cooperation with Leonid Volkov’s brother.

27.06.2025

13:07

Voronezh Oblast

Voronezh activist Anzhela Gushchina has been fined 30,000 rubles (approx. US$335) under the article on “discrediting” the Russian army, following an anti-war comment. This was reported by the Telegram channel “Free People of Voronezh.”

On 20 June, the activist’s home in the town of Liski, a locality near Voronezh in western Russia, was searched. Security forces seized electronic devices and then took Gushchina to Voronezh for questioning. During the interrogation, they tried to find out who administers “Free People of Voronezh.” Afterwards, a police report was drawn up against the activist for a comment made in the chat of the Telegram channel “VorNadzor.”

On 22 April, in Voronezh, searches were conducted at the homes of eight local activists. For seven of them, the investigative activities were related to a criminal case against the civil society figure Grigory Severin. Law enforcement tried to find devices with access to the “Free People of Voronezh” channel, which had published posts critical of the Russian authorities.

Security forces tortured at least three activists and their family members. Aleksandr Zheltukhin was beaten with a stun gun and suffocated with a plastic bag. Doctors recorded eight broken ribs and five fractured vertebrae. Security forces tried to cut off Fyodor Orlov’s finger with scissors. An electric shocker was also used on Nadezhda Belova, her husband and son. After one of the victims lodged a complaint, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case into torture.

10:21

Chelyabinsk Oblast

An activist from Chelyabinsk, a major industrial city in the Urals, was detained at her workplace over an anti-war comment she posted in 2023. She reported this herself to OVD-Info.

On the afternoon of 26 June, three police officers came to her work. They introduced themselves as officers from the Centre “E” and took her to the main office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Chelyabinsk region. There, four law enforcement officers questioned her for about three hours. They were interested in her anti-war comments on Telegram, her vote in the presidential elections, and her support for politician Alexei Navalny. The Chelyabinsk activist was also asked why she does not leave Russia.

After the detention, her phone was confiscated and its contents were examined by the police.

She was then taken to the 'Severo-Zapadny' police station. There, a report was filed against her over a comment she had made in the chat of the publication “Verstka” on Telegram, in which she called participants in the war in Ukraine “mercenaries,” “murderers” and “fascists.” She is being charged with “discrediting the army” (part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

The name of the person featured in this story has been removed at her request.

26.06.2025

12:42

Perm Krai

A resident of Perm, a major city in the Urals, was fined twice in one day under charges of “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3, Part 1 of the Administrative Offences Code) because of anti-war comments. This was reported by the outlet Idel.Realii.

The Industrial District Court of Perm handed the man two fines of 30,000 roubles each (approx. US$320). Both decisions were issued on 18 April.

One protocol was drawn up over comments made in the “ChP Perm | Perm Krai” public group below a 2023 post about the deaths of two Russians in the war, including a member of the Wagner Group. The Perm resident left several comments:

—“I disagree. Russia invaded another country and is killing Slavs. Firstly, he was a mercenary, he killed for money. Can you explain to me: if someone kills people for money...

24.06.2025

13:05

On 11 June, the Magadan City Court fined 46-year-old Elena A. 30,000 roubles (approx. US$330) under the article on ‘discrediting the army’ (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences), reports “Ostorozhno, novosti” (“Caution, news”).

The woman did not attend the hearing. The administrative case was triggered by a comment she left under a post in a local Telegram channel about the death of a 25-year-old mobilised resident of Kolyma in the war.

In the discussion, she wrote: “He was a good lad. My daughter went to nursery and school with him for 11 years. Why is God so unfair?”

Another commenter replied: “Just another occupier, what’s so good about him?” The woman responded: “The mobilised guy just wanted to help his mum, she raised him alone. The others are occupiers, yes.”

11:30

Moscow

The Tverskoy District Court in Moscow fined a married couple from Perm Krai, Diana Kildiyarova and Rail Khusainov, 30,000 roubles (approximately US$325) and sentenced them to 13 days in detention over a picket with a poster reading “Greatness of the SBU.” This was reported by “Ostorozhno, Novosti” (“Careful, News”).

The couple were found guilty of “discrediting the Russian army” (part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code) and “disobeying the police” (part 1, Article 19.3). The court rulings on the “discrediting” charge state the pair held a picket on 30 April by a fence next to military equipment.

In court, Kildiyarova and Khusainov explained that they had received a call from fraudsters who forced them to take out a loan, then paid for their travel and accommodation in Moscow, forbade them from contacting the police, and made them go out with the poster. The court found that the couple “publicly expressed a negative attitude towards the special military operation being conducted by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” and that their testimony was unsubstantiated.

The charge of “disobeying the police” was brought against Kildiyarova and Khusainov because, according to police reports, they refused to stop the picket and to get into the police vehicle, “waved their arms, dug their feet into the asphalt and clung to police uniforms.” The couple denied their guilt and said they calmly complied with police demands. However, the court ruled there were no grounds to consider the police reports inadmissible, and that the couple’s explanations should be viewed critically.

After serving their 13-day detention, the couple flew back to Perm Krai in the Urals, “Ostorozhno Novosti” reports.

21.06.2025

13:37

The Central District Court in Kemerovo fined local photographer and musician Ivan Sapozhnikov 10,000 roubles (approximately US$110) over a post about the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the news outlet “7×7,” as well as the security services-affiliated Telegram channel “Kuzbass Without Extremism‘.

The 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 security services, Sapozhnikov allegedly left a comment on VKontakte stating that Russia started the war against Ukraine in 2014.

In addition, the same court fined the photographer 1,000 roubles (approximately US$11) for posting a photo of Alexei Navalny. He was accused of displaying extremist organisation symbols (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The authors of “Kuzbass Without Extremism” wrote that the protocol was specifically drawn up because of the Navalny photo, since Navalny was “recognised as an extremist.”

“It is true that there is now a practice of prosecuting people for posting photos of Navalny for displaying extremist symbols,” commented OVD-Info lawyer Valeria Vetoshkina. “Of course, this is unlawful and wrong, because putting an individual on the list of those suspected of involvement in extremist or terrorist activities, or the fact that a person headed an organisation recognised as extremist, does not make images of that person prohibited.”

20.06.2025

14:27

Novosibirsk Oblast

Elena Shuvalova, an activist from Novosibirsk, was fined 30,000 rubles (approximately US$330) for anti-war posts, reports “7×7.”

The reason for bringing her to administrative responsibility under the article on “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) were two posts on VKontakte: one included an image of white-blue-white and yellow-blue flags against a background of clouds with the captions “Leave Ukraine alone” and “For peace,” and the other also showed a white-blue-white flag against clouds with the caption “For peace.” Shuvalova published these more than three years ago.

The protocol against the activist was drawn up on 28 May. At the same time, she was fined 2,000 rubles (about US$22) under the article on displaying extremist symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) because of VKontakte posts with images of the white-blue-white flag and slogans “Glory to Ukraine” and “Glory to the heroes.”

18.06.2025

16:06

Irkutsk Oblast

Maria Makhmutova, a resident of Irkutsk region in Siberia, has been issued a protocol for “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) after criticising Russia Day and participants in the war, according to the regional Interior Ministry department. reports.

Earlier, she wrote on VKontakte that officials had decided not to draw up a protocol or open a criminal case against her: “No drugs, no alcohol, no psych ward, no remand facility, no admin charges, no criminal charges. When I know my rights even without lawyers. Info for those who were quick to celebrate,” Makhmutova said. Her page is now closed.

The Interior Ministry said the protocol was actually drawn up against her on 13 June. The case will be heard by the Kirovsky District Court in Irkutsk.

The ministry also...