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

07.06.2025

11:44

The screening of Nikolai Solodnikov’s film “You Cried Bitterly in Your Sleep,” starring Ivan Urgant, was cancelled at the “Literature and Cinema” festival in Gatchina, a town near St Petersburg. The “Film Distributor’s Bulletin” drew attention to this report.

Prior to this, the public movement “The Call of the People” sent an appeal to the Ministry of Culture demanding the screening be cancelled. The activists noted that Solodnikov and Urgant hold “anti-patriotic and anti-Russian” views. Both cultural figures declined to support the war in Ukraine and have criticised the Russian authorities. “The Call of the People” also pointed to their “connections with individuals declared foreign agents”: Solodnikov’s wife, journalist Ekaterina Gordeeva, is included in this list.

Earlier, the film was not issued a distribution certificate.

05.06.2025

14:50

Saint Petersburg

St Petersburg activist Darya Kozyreva has been fined 40,500 roubles (US$450) under the article on “discrediting the army” (part 1 of article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by the project “A Word for the Defence” and “Mediazona”.

The Petrogradsky District Court handed down the fine today. The case was initiated due to Kozyreva’s final statement before sentencing in her criminal case for “discrediting” the army (part 1 of article 280.3 of the Criminal Code). At that time, she was sentenced to two years and eight months in a penal colony.

The administrative case was based on almost her entire speech in court, except for her recitation of Taras Shevchenko’s poetry. At the end of her statement, in particular, she said: “I dream, of course, that Ukraine will regain every inch of its land, including Donbas and Crimea. I believe that one day my dream will come true. One day history will judge everything fairly. But Ukraine has already won. Won already. That’s all.”

Darya Kozyreva’s lawyer, Rafail Polyakov, told the court that the protocol drafted against his client was an act of pressure on her, as the right to express one’s opinion in a final statement is guaranteed by the Constitution.

The activist herself said she was not given the opportunity to review the case materials, called the protocol a violation of her right to a defence, and noted that “even murderers” are not prosecuted for words spoken in a final statement.

04.06.2025

14:29

The Leninsky District Court in Yekaterinburg fined local resident Dmitry Novikov 15,000 roubles (approximately US$170) for holding a picket against the persecution of anti-war Russians. Novikov himself reported this to OVD-Info.

He was found guilty under the article covering violations of the rules for holding a public event (Part 5 of Article 20.2 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences). The offence was deemed to be Novikov’s solo picket on 27 December 2024. His sign read: Disagreement is a crime. Since the beginning of 2022, more than 10,000 of our fellow citizens have been punished for opposing the war.

On the day of the protest, Novikov was fined twice for a total of 80,000 roubles (about US$900) for previous anti-war pickets. On those occasions, he was accused of “discrediting the Russian army” (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) for holding posters with photos of destroyed Ukrainian cities and portraits of residents of the Urals killed in the war.

After the court sessions, Novikov decided to hold a picket directly opposite the courthouse. He was then detained and taken to the security room, but was released shortly afterwards.

03.06.2025

11:45

Pskov Oblast

The Ostrovsky City Court in Pskov region has sentenced activist Roman Ladyshchenko to seven days' arrest and fined him a total of 41,500 roubles (approximately US$460) on three charges: displaying prohibited symbols (Article 20.3, Part 1 of the Administrative Code) and “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3, Part 1 of the Administrative Code), Mediazona reported.

He was arrested on 25 May for a VKontakte post featuring the symbols of FBK; the following day, he was fined 40,000 roubles (approximately US$445) for an anti-war post on the same social network, and on 30 May was handed a further fine of 1,500 roubles (approximately US$17), again for showing FBK symbols.

Ladyshchenko is an electrical engineer and has taken part in local elections as a candidate from the Pskov branch of the Yabloko party and the Open Russia movement. In 2018, he was charged with promoting Nazi symbols (Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code) over the “HitlerVsPutin” video he posted on VKontakte, but the court declined to consider the materials due to errors in their preparation.

02.06.2025

16:39

Tula Oblast

A resident of Tula, who walked past the local parade on 9 May wearing a T-shirt with a crossed-out Z and the slogan “Peace to the world, no to war,” was fined 45,000 rubles (approximately US$500). This was reported by the law enforcement-affiliated channel “Tula. ExtremiZm.”

The channel refers to the fined man as “Grandpa Nikolai.” The website of the Tula Central District Court features a court record for the case of “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) against Nikolai Dmitruk, with a verdict given on 10 May.

30.05.2025

17:16

Saint Petersburg

St Petersburg activist Darya Kozyreva has been charged with “discrediting the army” (part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code) because of her final statement delivered before her sentence was announced, as well as remarks made at the same hearing. This was reported by the St Petersburg courts’ press service.

“According to the record, on 18 April 2025, Kozyreva was given the floor at the court hearing, and in that statement she herself gave grounds for part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation. In her final statement, Kozyreva again made remarks regarding the war, occupation and so on,” reads the press service’s statement.

The administrative case materials will soon be forwarded to a judge.

In April, Kozyreva was convicted under a criminal case for a repeat offence of “discrediting the army” (part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code). She was sentenced to two years and eight months in a penal colony. The reason for her criminal prosecution was her anti-war protest and an interview in which she described the war in Ukraine as “monstrous” and “criminal.”

In her final statement, she said that Putin had started the war, Russia had seized Ukrainian territories, and she referred to Russian soldiers as occupiers.

11:49

Moscow

Two scientists who spoke out against the war were not elected as full members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), reports T-Invariant.

In the elections, which concluded on 29 May, two corresponding members of RAS were not confirmed as full academicians: linguistics professor at Ural Federal University Elena Berezovich and Director of the Vinogradov Russian Language Institute of RAS Fyodor Uspensky. Both had signed an open letter by scientists in 2022 against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to the RAS charter, a candidate needs to receive more than half of all academicians’ votes—there are about 780 of them. Berezovich received votes from 351 academicians; 173 voted against, and 33 abstained. Uspensky received 352 votes in favour, 171 against, and 34 abstentions.

The publication...

29.05.2025

14:57

The Proletarsky District Court in Tula has fined 34-year-old Nikolai 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) under the law on “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), reports the “Tula. Extremism” channel, which is linked to law enforcement.

The prosecution was prompted by the poem “Dedicated to Z-idiots,” which was posted on Telegram. The poem tells the story of young people who drink alcohol and argue with their mothers about politics, then go to fight in Ukraine and are killed.

13:07

Saint Petersburg

The Primorsky District Court of St Petersburg has, at the request of the prosecutor’s office, banned the song “Cooperative Swan Lake” by Noize MC, reports Darya Lebedeva, head of the city’s unified press service for the courts.

The ruling prohibits the distribution of links to the track on YouTube and on the website noizemc.com.

The decision is based on the findings of an expert who identified in the song “signs of justification and endorsement of the need for hostile, hateful attitudes towards people, as well as statements promoting violent changes to the foundations of the constitutional order.”

“[The track] is full of obscene language, forms a negative attitude towards representatives of state authorities and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, is harmful to minors, and may damage the moral and ethical development of children,” Lebedeva relays as the expert’s conclusions.

The expert also found in the song’s lyrics signs of discrediting the authorities and the Russian military.

In March, the service Yandex.Music, at the request of Roskomnadzor, removed “Cooperative Swan Lake” and several other tracks from Noize MC’s new album “Not All at Home” from its library. At the time, the group “Roskomsvoboda” observed that the deleted songs had appeared on the register of banned websites. Roskomnadzor stated that these tracks were distributing “unreliable information of public significance.”

In early May, the same songs were blocked for Russian residents by the streaming services Apple and SoundCloud.

28.05.2025

12:54

Novosibirsk Oblast

Today, the Central District Court of Novosibirsk fined local activist Elena Shuvalova 2,000 roubles (about US$21) over posts on VKontakte. Her lawyer, Olga Nechaeva, told OVD-Info about the court’s decision.

The protocol used to fine Shuvalova was filed under the article on displaying extremist symbols (part 1, article 20.3 of the Administrative Code). The grounds were posts on VKontakte featuring the white-blue-white flag and the slogans “Glory to Ukraine” and “Glory to the Heroes.”

Also today, at the police station, law enforcement officers drew up a second protocol against Shuvalova—under the article on public actions aimed at discrediting the Russian Armed Forces (part 1, article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was based on two more VKontakte posts.

One of these showed the white-blue-white and yellow-blue flags against clouds, with the captions “Leave Ukraine alone” and “For peace.” The other also depicted the white-blue-white flag against clouds with the caption “For peace.” The date of the court hearing for this offence is not yet known.

In addition, officers stated in the protocol that Shuvalova had posted on social media using hashtags including #нетвойне (#nowar), #противфашизма (#againstfascism), #мирумир (#peacetotheworld), #владимирзеленский (#volodymyrzelensky), #зеленский (#zelensky), #славаукраине (#glorytoukraine), #зеленскийкрутой (#zelenskyiscool), #nowar, and #героямслава (#glorytotheheroes).

10:38

The Nizhegorodsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod fined a local resident 30,000 roubles (about US$325) under the article on “discrediting the Russian army” (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) due to her anti-war solo protest. This was reported by OVD-Info legal defender Pavel Turchin, who assisted the protester.

The young woman was detained and taken to the police station for the protocol to be drawn up in mid-April when she went out with a “No to war!” sign to the “Nebo” shopping centre.

23.05.2025

15:28

Anastasia Sholokhova, a resident of Bratsk (Irkutsk region, a city in Siberia), was fined 35,000 rubles (approximately US$380) on 21 March under the article on “discrediting the army” (Part 1 Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). She herself informed OVD-Info about this.

A police report was filed against her over a video in which she called for the relocation of residents from a dangerous building in Bratsk. The video was posted on her VKontakte page. In it, she says: “This is what NATO envies us for. We’re going somewhere to protect someone, but who will protect people here?”

12:35

The Kuybyshev District Court of St Petersburg fined 84-year-old siege survivor Lyudmila Vasilyeva 10,000 roubles (approximately US$115) for holding an anti-war protest. This was reported by photographer Andrey Bok.

On the third anniversary of the war, 24 February, Vasilyeva stood near Gostiny Dvor—a city landmark—with a placard reading: “People, let’s stop the war! We are responsible for peace on planet Earth.” She remained there for about an hour. Police officers approached her during the protest, but did not detain her.

In April, it became known that an official record of “discrediting the Russian army” had been filed against Lyudmila Vasilyeva. At first, the court returned the record to the police to correct procedural errors, but the case was later resubmitted to the court.

21.05.2025

20:55

Saint Petersburg

The Kronstadt District Court of St Petersburg has fined dance teacher Anna Erdynieva 10,000 rubles (about US$110) for an anti-war protest held on 9 May. This was reported by the city courts’ joint press service. Erdynieva’s lawyer from OVD-Info, Nikita Sorokin, confirmed the information about the fine.

On 9 May, a St Petersburg resident went out into the street with a sign reading: “8–9 May is a day to remember and mourn the victims of inhuman aggression.” The paper also had two handwritten slogans, both reading “No to war,” and a drawing of a raccoon.

According to Sorokin, she held two protests in different locations in St Petersburg using the same placard. However, law enforcement treated these as two separate public events.

“In one location she [Anna Erdynieva] allegedly obstructed...

18.05.2025

10:21

Human rights defender Maksim Davydov, who advocates for the rights of illegally mobilised individuals in occupied Donetsk, has been fined 45,000 roubles (approx. US$500) under the article on “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces” (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by ASTRA, citing Davydov himself.

The case was triggered by three comments posted in a Telegram chat called “MDNR.” Two of them were from February this year. The last comment, but in a somewhat different wording, was from November 2024, as discovered by OVD-Info.

“Astra [an independent Russian publication], the only legal lever to force Russian weakoviks to act”;
“In the morning of 20 February 2025 in the Chervonohvardeyskyi district of Makiivka [a city in eastern Ukraine], militants from the illegal armed formation ‘Military Commissariat’ are going around vocational colleges in the district searching for fresh meat for assaults. The LPR and DPR authorities no longer need locksmiths, electricians, or turners. The replacement of the native population with Asian savages is in full swing”;
“The special military operation is a very convenient cover for carrying out the genocide of Slavs. The Ukrainian and Russian authorities are disposing of the native population in close cooperation” (original spelling preserved).

The report on the human rights defender was drawn up by “Centre E” officer Mikhail Krasy. Maksim Davydov himself stated that he was expressing his own personal opinion in the comments.

He also said that the case was considered “illegally and not according to protocol.” In particular, the original papers from the court have no official (wet) stamps.

“I am preparing complaints to the judicial department, to the Supreme Court, I will challenge and file appeals. Only death will stop me,” said Maksim Davydov.

14.05.2025

19:50

In Kronstadt, on 12 May, Anna Erdineeva, a resident of St Petersburg, was detained for holding an anti-war picket. She was held by the police for two days and is still being refused release. This was reported by OVD-Info lawyer Nikita Sorokin.

Erdineeva was charged over a solo anti-war picket she held on 9 May. According to the official report, her placard read: “No to war No to war 8–9 May is a Day of Remembrance and Sorrow for the victims of inhuman aggression.”

Erdineeva is a dance teacher and it turned out that to detain her, the police posed as a client and invited her to come to Kronstadt. After her arrest, Erdineeva was taken to the police station in Kronstadt district, St Petersburg. There, she was written up in two reports under the article on participating in an unauthorised...

15:31

Sverdlovsk Oblast

On 13 May, authorities in the closed city of Lesnoy (Sverdlovsk Region, in the Urals) drew up an administrative offence report against Maksim Zubenko under the article on ‘discrediting the army’ (part 1 of article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). Zubenko himself told OVD-Info about this.

The reason for the report was a comment he made under a photograph of soldiers published in December 2022: “Terrorists carrying out the orders of the balding one.”

During questioning, Zubenko explained that he was referring to Ukrainian troops following the orders of Joe Biden, and that he had not noticed the military insignia in the photo.

15:01

Moscow

The Tverskoy District Court in Moscow has fined activist Aleksandr Klevitov 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) under the law on “discrediting” the Russian army (article 20.3.3, part 1 of the Administrative Offences Code). This was reported by his OVD-Info lawyer, Nataliya Tikhonova.

Klevitov was detained on 9 May during a solo anti-war protest. At the police station, the young man was beaten and kept overnight, despite there being no legal grounds for doing so. A lawyer was not allowed to see him.

In court, Nataliya Tikhonova highlighted numerous violations. Among other things, she pointed out that instead of conducting an expert assessment, the police simply googled the phrase “No to war. Fascism will not pass”—the exact slogan on Klevitov’s placard.

13.05.2025

17:06

Sverdlovsk Oblast

The Yeltsin Centre has cancelled a lecture by philosophy populariser Dmitry Khaustov following a post on the channel “UralLive,” which is connected to Vladimir Solovyov’s propaganda team in the Urals. This was reported by the outlet It’s My City.

According to journalists, Khaustov’s lecture “Gilles Deleuze: An Assembly Guide” was meant to take place today at 19:00. Earlier in the day, the “UralLive” channel posted that the philosophy populariser had spoken out against the war in Ukraine. The channel was also outraged that Khaustov “called the special military operation ‘necropolitical newspeak that turns people into the living dead.’”

A few hours after the post, the Yeltsin Centre announced the lecture was cancelled. No reason was given.

It’s My City notes that this is already the third event since the start of the year to be cancelled following complaints from nationalists in the “Russian Community” and posts by the “UralLive” channel.

In April, the Yeltsin Centre removed director Vladimir Mirzoev’s play “I Killed the Tsar” from its programme, and in February a meeting was disrupted with the poet German Lukomnikov. According to “UralLive” and the “Russian Community,” the individuals involved supposedly hold anti-Russian views.

16:15

Saint Petersburg

Because of the music video by the band Nogu Svelo for the song “Hymn of the Doomed,” Vyacheslav Smirnov, a resident of St Petersburg, was fined 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330). This was reported by the joint press service of the St Petersburg courts.

According to them, Smirnov published the musicians’ video on his social media account (the specific platform is not mentioned).

The court found: “That is, intentionally, with the aim of undermining the authority of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and citizens’ trust in the current government, he discredited the character, goals, and objectives of the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation outside the territory of the Russian Federation.”

Smirnov did not admit guilt. He stated that he had not posted the song “Hymn of the Doomed” on his page; there was only a link to the video, not the video itself. Nevertheless, the court fined Smirnov under the article on public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Russian Armed Forces (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

In March this year, the man was detained by FSB officers and police. As reported by the court press service, Smirnov had been selling old watches online and had corresponded with a buyer for several weeks. At a meeting with the buyer, an administrative offence report was drawn up against him for a WhatsApp profile picture featuring the words “Glory to Ukraine.” At that point, security forces also found the link to “Hymn of the Doomed” on his phone.

For the profile picture, a report was made against him for propaganda of Nazi symbols (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The court sentenced him to 10 days’ arrest.

The band Nogu Svelo released the track “Hymn of the Doomed” (“Goida, orcs!”) in November 2022. It is dedicated to Russian soldiers and Russian citizens who support the war in Ukraine. The music video for the song was created in collaboration with Oleg Kuvayev, the animator of “Masyanya.”