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The case against Eduard Charov, a Protestant church priest from Sverdlovsk Region, under the article on discrediting the army (Art. 280.3 of the Criminal Code), has turned out to be linked to sharing a video address by the head of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, reports Mediazona.
Initially, the 7×7 media outlet, citing the priest’s wife, reported that the case was linked to a repost of an image made on 3 September 2023. The image read: “A patriot is someone who wants to make their country better, the people richer, and the government more honest and just. Not someone who justifies total poverty and corruption with imaginary greatness and spiritual bonds.” However, the time of publication stated in the official document launching the case does not match the time of the referenced post.
Mediazona reports that the case actually concerns a different repost from 3 September 2023. On that day, Charov shared an abridged version of a video address by Prigozhin, which Prigozhin had recorded on the eve of the mutiny in June 2023. The repost has since been deleted.
In this excerpt, Prigozhin accused the Ministry of Defence of lying. He claimed that the agency tried to “deceive the public, the president,” and that the war in Ukraine was only needed “so that a bunch of scumbags could promote themselves,” and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu could receive the title of marshal.
In the case materials available to Mediazona, the prosecution does not mention Prigozhin by name. Instead, the video is described as “a monologue by a man, conducted in Russian, which contains a set of linguistic and psychological signs aimed at persuading the audience of the negative nature of the goals pursued by the authorities of the Russian Federation in carrying out their powers—in other words, his discreditation of them.”
Mediazona notes that this is the first known criminal case initiated over sharing Prigozhin’s address on social media before the mutiny.
The case against Charov for discrediting the army was opened in June 2024, and in February of the same year, he was charged with justifying terrorism (Art. 205.2 of the Criminal Code). According to his spouse, the justification of terrorism charge was triggered by a comment in which the priest “joked about yet another attempt to set fire to a military enlistment office.” Both criminal cases were later joined into a single proceeding, which is now being considered by the Central District Military Court.
- Over 10 years ago, the priest founded a shelter for the homeless in the village of Savino. After the invasion of Ukraine began, he spoke out against the war, and after mobilisation was announced, he invited “conscripts fleeing from the mogilisation” to take refuge at his shelter.
- In 2023, Charov was fined for posts condemning the war and criticising the authorities. Under the article on discrediting the army (Art. 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code), he received a fine of 45,000 rubles (about US$500), and under the article on inciting hatred (Art. 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code), 20,000 rubles (about US$220).