Search
The Oktyabrsky District Court in Vladimir fined Deputy Mayor Denis Yegorov 30,000 rubles (approx. US$330) for refusing to approve a Communist Party (KPRF) picket, reports Chesnok.
The court found him guilty of violating assembly legislation (Article 5.38 of the Code of Administrative Offences).
In October 2025, members of the Communist Party were planning to hold a group picket to commemorate the shooting at the White House. They submitted notifications to the city administration, listing several potential locations for the event.
Deputy Mayor Yegorov signed the refusal to approve the picket. He claimed the notification was submitted after the deadline and did not include complete information about the organiser. He argued that the notification needed to be filed 10-15 days before the event. However, the legislation sets this deadline for rallies, while for pickets, the notification must be submitted no later than three days prior to the event.
On 13 October 2025, the Oktyabrsky District Court in Vladimir ruled the official’s decision unlawful. On 26 March 2026, the same court fined Yegorov. He did not attend the hearing.
- Such decisions against officials are relatively rare. In May 2022, under the same article, a fine was imposed on the Deputy Mayor of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (a city on Sakhalin Island in the Far East) for refusing to approve a Communist rally on 7 November 2021. In October 2021, the acting deputy head of Severodvinsk administration (a city in Arkhangelsk region by the White Sea) received a similar fine for banning a protest against landfill sites in the Arkhangelsk region.
- An activist from Naberezhnye Chelny (a major city in Tatarstan) was unable to bring officials to administrative responsibility in 2019 after being refused approval for a rally against raising the retirement age. However, in 2021, the Supreme Court of Tatarstan, following his lawsuit, ordered the municipality to pay him 10,000 rubles (approx. US$110) for the refusal.