Switch Language

The case against the administrators of the “Natsdem” channel was submitted to the Sergiyev Posad City Court in the Moscow region on 23 June. The SOVA research centre drew attention to this.

The first suspects named in the “Natsdem” case were Georgiy Paramoshin (“Kesha”) and Kirill Nikulenkov (“Pomorsky”). They were detained in March 2024. Nikulenkov was immediately sent to a remand facility (SIZO), Paramoshin a month later, after having been under house arrest.

The detention of residents of Kazan (a major city on the Volga) and Nizhny Novgorod (a large city east of Moscow), Sergei Litvinov and M. Noskov, became known in April this year via the channel “Movement of Nationalists.” At that time, there were no other confirmations of their detention, nor any information regarding the charges. Now, Litvinov’s surname has appeared in the case file. The other suspect’s surname has been withheld.

In January, it became known that Paramoshin had been charged with organising an extremist community (Part 1 Art. 282.1 of the Criminal Code), involving minors in committing a crime (Part 4 Art. 150), incitement to extremism (Part 2 Art. 280), as well as three counts under the article on inciting hatred or enmity as part of an organised group (subpoint “v” Part 2 Art. 282) due to posts about people of non-Slavic appearance.

An activist noted that the extremism incitement article was included because of the leaflet “Down with Chekist Power.” He called his prosecution “politically motivated.”

Kirill Nikulenkov was charged with the same articles as Paramoshin, except for the count of involving minors in crime.

Another suspect, M. Noskov, was charged with participating in an extremist community (Part 2 Art. 282.1), incitement to extremism, and inciting hatred or enmity as part of an organised group. Sergei Litvinov faced the same charges except for incitement to extremism. According to the “Movement of Nationalists,” both Noskov and Litvinov are also in a remand centre (SIZO).

2 July The pro-Kremlin agency RIA Novosti clarified details of the charges in the “Natsdem” channel case. Judging by the publication, it refers to Paramoshin and Nikulenkov, since both the charges and the home cities of the administrators (Sergiyev Posad and Arkhangelsk, a large city in the Russian north), as well as the overall number of suspects—four—match.

According to the investigation, from 2023 to 2024, those charged “as adherents of nationalist views, organised an extremist community” in Sergiyev Posad. Law enforcement claim that “to promote their views” the suspects created a Telegram channel through which they posted calls for participation in rallies, “discussed violent actions” against various groups, and “studied and distributed nationalist extremist materials, earning money through user donations.”

The investigators also believe that subsequently “for coordination, the accused created branches in various cities.”

“The channel published calls for protest and anti-war actions in nearly 40 regions of the Russian Federation,” a law enforcement source told RIA Novosti.

He added that those involved in the case also distributed “leaflets expressing pro-Ukrainian views and calling for extremist activities.”

According to the ‘Word to the Defence’ project, Kirill Nikulenkov admitted guilt. The other two suspects (presumably Noskov and Litvinov) are not at the remand centre but remain under a travel ban.

21 July The fourth suspect has been named as Mikhail Noskov, reports SOTAvision, citing a correspondent in the courtroom. At the hearing, it also became clear that it was Paramoshin’s fellow dorm resident at the Financial University under the Russian Government, Arseniy Dergunov, who reported him to the authorities. They lived together for two months.

Dergunov told the court that Paramoshin frequently spoke to him about politics, nationalism and his activities, including the “Natsdem” channel. The student recorded one of the conversations on a voice recorder and handed it over to an FSB officer at the university.

According to Dergunov, in the recorded conversation, Paramoshin “explained the political situation in the country,” spoke about his attitude to the authorities and Vladimir Putin, as well as future planned actions. When Paramoshin’s defence asked about his participation in the conversation, Dergunov said that he did not express his own opinion but was only interested in his neighbour’s activities. The lawyer asked the court to play the full recording, believing it contradicts Dergunov’s testimony.

The witness added that Paramoshin hoped to achieve regime change in the country, the release of political prisoners, repeal of Article 282 of the Criminal Code on inciting hatred and enmity, as well as an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The young man added he “respects the current authorities immensely” and supports the Russian army. He said he reported Paramoshin of his own accord.

At the hearing, an assistant prosecutor read out the indictment. The investigators believe that Paramoshin, “misunderstanding patriotism,” decided to “embrace national-democratic ideology” and became hostile to Russia’s political system and “non-Russians,” then created the “Natsdem” channel. The young man later met Kirill Nikulenkov, arranged to meet him in Moscow, and in summer 2023 appointed him as administrator of “Natsdem.”

The charges state that in January 2024 Sergei Litvinov began corresponding with Nikulenkov and received flyers “condemning Islam and the current authorities.” He printed and distributed them, after which he was accepted into the Nizhny Novgorod branch of “Natsdem.” Law enforcement believe Mikhail Noskov from Kazan joined his local branch in the same way.

Paramoshin refused to plead guilty to any of the charges. The other suspects admitted guilt to all charges.

Updated with information on the pre-trial restrictions for Litvinov and Noskov.

  • The “Natsdem” channel was created in August 2022. According to the SOVA centre, its content was “ethnonationalist,” with a large proportion “targeted against migrants.” However, “Natsdem” also published criticism of Russia’s current political regime and the war in Ukraine, noted the “Politzek-Info” channel.
  • At the end of October 2024, Georgiy Paramoshin held a week-long hunger strike in the remand centre to demand an end to the war in Ukraine and the release of all political prisoners.