Search
Former coordinator of Navalny’s office in Saratov, Dmitry Tsibirev, reported on his Telegram channel that a search took place at his mother’s flat.
According to him, the search was conducted as part of two new criminal cases under articles concerning failure to comply with the obligations of a “foreign agent” (Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code) and “discrediting the army” (Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code), because of posts on Tsibirev’s channel.
He noted that the search warrant stated it was his flat, despite the fact that the opposition activist has not been registered there since January 2025. Moreover, he has not lived there for over 20 years. Only Tsibirev’s mother is registered at the address.
“But that didn’t stop either investigator Podgalo or prosecutor Boltachieva. Of course, they knew there was no reason to search my mum’s flat, but they still decided to send the cops round and frighten the elderly woman,” wrote the opposition activist.
- In 2021, a criminal case was opened against Tsibirev for incitement to violate sanitary and epidemiological rules (Part 1, Article 236 of the Criminal Code, with the application of Part 4, Article 33) over a rally in support of Alexei Navalny on 23 January. That year, similar cases were launched in several regions—they were collectively referred to as the “sanitary case.” As part of this prosecution, a search was conducted at Tsibirev’s home. In 2022, after he had left Russia, the opposition activist was declared wanted by police.
- That same year, Tsibirev was fined 50,000 rubles (approx. US$550) in an administrative case for “discrediting the army” with calls to take part in protests (Part 2, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). The reason was a video from politician Alexei Navalny’s channel calling for protests against the war—Tsibirev shared it on his Telegram channel.
- In July 2024, the opposition activist was added to the list of “foreign agents.”