An elderly deputy head of the Russian Union of Retirees from Amur Oblast, a region in Russia’s Far East, has been fined over likes on Odnoklassniki.

On 23 July, the Konstantinovsky District Court in Amur Oblast, a region in Russia’s Far East, fined Viktor Komlev, the deputy head of the local branch of the Russian Union of Retirees, 170,000 rubles (approximately US$1,850) under the article for repeated “discrediting” of the army (part 1, article 280.3 of the Criminal Code), according to the court’s press service.

Komlev’s case was referred to court on 2 June. According to investigators, he “liked” three anti-war posts on Odnoklassniki (a Russian social media platform). The investigation was conducted by the Amur Oblast branch of the FSB.

In March 2024 he was fined 30,000 rubles (about US$320) under an administrative article for “discrediting” (part 1, article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). In the court’s decision, it stated that Komlev had reposted information on Odnoklassniki that “discredited the actions of the Russian Armed Forces during the special operation,” and in 2023 he published the following post:

“I would really like to divide my friends into two categories. Those who stand for people, and therefore against this slaughter. The slaughter they modestly call the ‘special military operation.’ And those who are not human, who keep sending their closest loved ones into this meat grinder. Never try to find me again. I’m no longer here for you…”

A few days before the court hearing, the Telegram channel “Blagoveshchensk No. 1” posted a video filmed by security forces after the elderly man’s detention. One of them asked Komlev: “You ‘like’ ‘Glory to Ukraine.’ Do you think that’s okay?” The second clarified if that was his social media page. At the time, Komlev’s profile avatar was an image reading “No to War.”

The channel also noted that Komlev had publicly expressed support for the “special military operation.” It published a fragment of an interview where he discussed the activities of the local branch of the Union of Retirees: “Now we are also helping our fighters in the special operation; we weave nets, we make trench candles, we collect parcels.”

According to Komlev’s Odnoklassniki page, after the administrative court ruling, he continued to “like” anti-war posts, which led to the criminal case. The elderly activist admitted guilt and expressed remorse, which was considered a mitigating factor.