In Syktyvkar, a major city in the Komi Republic, activist and local historian Vyacheslav Slyusarev has gone missing following a visit from the police.

In Syktyvkar, a major city in the Komi Republic, local historian and activist Vyacheslav Slyusarev has stopped communicating after a morning visit from law enforcement. This was reported by Novaya Gazeta, citing Slyusarev’s close contacts.

On the morning of 13 August, Slyusarev sent his friends messages saying that police officers were banging on his door. After that, he did not respond to further messages. The local historian’s lawyer has also been unable to obtain information about his whereabouts.

Vyacheslav Slyusarev is a civic activist who previously led a historical and genealogical club in Syktyvkar. In 2019, he was fined 10,000 roubles (about US$110) for the “Syktyvkar Coming Out” protest. The Komi Supreme Court later overturned this penalty.

In 2021, Slyusarev was again fined 10,000 roubles (about US$110) under a protest-related article. He was accused of taking part in a rally in support of Alexey Navalny, although, as Slyusarev stated, he attended the event as a public observer.