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

15.04.2025

09:54

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.

14.04.2025

11:18

Nizhny Novgorod Oblast

A resident of Nizhny Novgorod was detained for an anti-war protest. She herself informed OVD-Info about the incident.

The young woman was holding a sign reading “No to war!” near the Nebo shopping and entertainment centre. She is being taken to Police Station No. 5.

We have removed the protagonist’s name from this report at her request.

12:58 The detainee was released from the police station with a report under the article on “discrediting the Russian army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by OVD-Info legal supporter Pavel Turchin, who assisted the protester.

09.04.2025

11:57

Saint Petersburg

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.

08.04.2025

18:32

Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra

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.’”

07.04.2025

16:23

Kabardino-Balkarian Republic

Timur Stolnikov, a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria, was fined 15,000 roubles (approximately US$165) over a vandalised banner depicting deceased Russian soldiers. He himself reported this to OVD-Info.

The Maisky District Court found Stolnikov guilty of “discrediting” the Russian army (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). According to the authorities, he cut up posters that had been pasted on the wall of a grocery shop.

13:54

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.”

03.04.2025

16:46

Moscow Oblast

The Troitsk City Court has fined local resident Denis Fomenkov 50,000 roubles (approximately US$560) under the article on “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). He himself reported this to OVD-Info.

The protocol was drawn up against him because Fomenkov allegedly hung a banner sewn from blue and yellow fabric on the end of a non-residential building, on which “Forgive us, Ukraine” was written in black paint.

According to him, the security forces did not conduct a linguistic expert analysis and presented only indirect evidence.

16:38

Tomsk Oblast

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.”

02.04.2025

16:42

Republic of Tatarstan

In Kazan, a major city on the Volga River, Yabloko supporter Zulfiya Sitdikova was detained in the street. She has been charged under the article on “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported to OVD-Info by a friend of hers.

Sitdikova was taken to Police Station No. 16 on Yapeeva Street.

The police did not explain to Sitdikova what prompted the detention.

18:50 In Kazan, near her home, activist Vera Otreshko was detained. She too has been charged under the article on “discrediting the army.” The reason for her detention is unknown. This was reported to OVD-Info by Otreshko herself.

The woman was also taken to Police Station No. 16 on Yapeeva Street.

21:00 Sitdikova and Otreshko were released from the police station. Protocols were drawn up against them for discrediting the army with calls to hold unsanctioned rallies (Part 2, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). They themselves reported this to OVD-Info.

13:11

Sverdlovsk Oblast

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.”

11:42

Irkutsk Oblast

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.

01.04.2025

13:18

Saint Petersburg

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...

27.03.2025

16:13

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,...

14:40

Russia

The TV channel Dom Kino, which is owned by Tricolor, blurred out a photograph of Alla Pugacheva in the film “The Icebreaker.” This was pointed out by a viewer of Oleg Kashin’s YouTube channel and by “Agentstvo”.

The film was broadcast in this form on the channel overnight into Wednesday, 26 March.

The film “The Icebreaker,” released in 2016, tells the story of the icebreaker “Mikhail Somov,” which became trapped in the Antarctic ice and drifted for 133 days. Pugacheva appears on a calendar, which one of the characters approaches to cross off the date.

Alla Pugacheva condemned the war in Ukraine and left Russia. Because of her anti-war stance, pro-government media regularly criticise the singer, and NTV has released five “hit pieces” on Pugacheva since the start of March, reports Agentstvo.

14:37

The “Yandex.Music” platform has removed several tracks from Noize MC’s new album “Not All at Home” at the request of Roskomnadzor. This was reported by RBC and SOTA.

The tracks “Not All at Home,” “Cryochambers,” “Land of Rain,” and “Cooperative ‘Swan Lake’” have disappeared from the streaming service.

“Yandex.Music has received an official order from Roskomnadzor to restrict access to a number of tracks by Noize MC. According to the law ‘On Information, Information Technologies, and Information Protection,’ Yandex.Music is obliged to comply with such demands within 24 hours,” the service’s press office told RBC.

Noize MC released his tenth studio album, “Not All at Home,” on 14 March. This is the artist’s first album since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “This album is about all Russias at once—the abandoned and the vanished, the inner and the incurable, the rejecting and the rejected,” the musician said in an interview with Meduza.

28 March The “Roskomsvoboda” project noted that songs by Noize MC had appeared in the register of banned websites. The links in the register lead to various music services.

The project clarifies that these are the same tracks that were previously removed from Yandex.Music at Roskomnadzor’s request. The agency specified that they demanded their removal “for spreading false socially significant information.”

09:54

Irkutsk Oblast

The Ust-Kut City Court has fined local resident Kseniya Kuznetsova 15,000 rubles (about US$165) for criticising a banner featuring a soldier who died in the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the 7×7 news outlet, which drew attention to the court’s published decision.

The ruling was delivered on 6 March. Kuznetsova was found guilty of discrediting the army (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). She also admitted her guilt.

Although the minimum fine for discrediting the army is 30,000 rubles (about US$330), the judge imposed a lower amount on Kuznetsova, as she is raising three young children alone and also has a disability.

In November 2024, Kuznetsova posted a video on VKontakte showing the banner with the words “Glory to Russian heroes” along with a photo of the deceased soldier, and criticised it. She said she did not understand the need for “glory, which I couldn’t care less about in the grave.”

“A rich, healthy, strong, sturdy man up until his very death, influential, powerful—that, damn it, is glory in my personal, subjective view,” she added.

Law enforcement took notice of the video after it was shared on pro-government Telegram channels, including by Irkutsk-based blogger Ilya Filippenko. (Irkutsk is a major city in Siberia.)

After Kuznetsova was detained, the Interior Ministry for Irkutsk Oblast released a video of her apologising to the regiment in which the deceased soldier had served, as well as to the people of Russia.

26.03.2025

15:07

Krasnodar Krai

The Leninsky District Court in Krasnodar has sentenced blogger and powerlifter Vladimir Vanyan to 13 days’ detention on charges of disobeying the police (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Offences Code) after he faced pressure in pro-war Z-channels. This was reported by the court’s press service.

As Mediazona reports, on 24 March, five short clips from Vanyan’s stream were posted by a pro-government nationalist blogger, Vladislav Pozdnyakov.

In the videos, the man says: “Karabakh is Armenia, and Krasnodar is Armenia.” Responding to a comment warning that the FSB would be waiting for him in the street for saying such things, Vanyan replied: “Fuck off, the FSB can suck my dick, we’re waiting, your FSB is a cunt.” When asked his position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the blogger said:...

11:40

Sverdlovsk Oblast

An employee of the Ministry of Education and Youth Policy of Sverdlovsk Region was detained in Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Urals, when he held a solo protest against the “Truba” monument, which commemorates the deployment of Russian troops to Sudzha (Kursk Region). This was reported by Ura.ru.

The placard had “a message of condemnation regarding the installation,” an eyewitness to the protest told the outlet.

The young person was charged with discrediting the army (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). According to Ura.ru, they are being held in a detention facility. The protester’s phone was confiscated.

14:20 The detainee’s name is Roman Gilmanov, reports “7×7—Horizontal Russia.”

A protocol was also drawn up for disobeying the police (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code), for which he was sentenced to 15 days in jail. This was reported by the press service of the Kirov District Court of Yekaterinburg.

23.03.2025

10:24

Other

Information about politically motivated persecution was posted here. The person featured in the story asked us to remove their story for security reasons. As a human rights project, we cannot ignore such requests, so we are deleting the news text.

11.03.2025

21:54

In Simferopol, a local resident, Zlata Sazonova, was detained after being threatened by passers-by for singing songs in Ukrainian. She herself told OVD-Info about the incident.

According to her, she was on Pushkin Street, performing love songs in Ukrainian. Nearby was a group of about 15 young people who began to react aggressively to the music. Sazonova’s friend was with her, and the young people began to attack him. One of them threatened Sazonova’s friend with a knife.

As a result, the victims called the police. Both they and the attackers were taken to Police Department No. 3 “Central.” According to Sazonova, while they were in the police car, law enforcement officers threatened the young people with criminal charges because of the songs, and also reacted aggressively to statements about rights.

At the station, the police continued to threaten her with prosecution under articles relating to “discrediting the army” and “extremism.” At the moment, according to Sazonova, she and her friend have not been detained and are at the police station as witnesses to the attack.

00:50 Zlata Sazonova was released from the police station without a report being filed. Her lawyer told OVD-Info about this. It is unknown whether her friend, who was attacked by the group of young people, has also been released.

12 March Sazonova’s friend was also released from the police station, she told OVD-Info.