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The Investigative Committee has opened a second criminal case against Semyon Kochkin, creator of the Telegram channel “Angry Chuvashia,” under the article on evading foreign agent obligations (Part 2, Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code). Kochkin himself told OVD-Info about this.

The case was initiated in March. According to the indictment (seen by OVD-Info), this time the grounds for prosecution were the failure to submit foreign agent quarterly reports to the Ministry of Justice in 2025.

On 24 April, Kochkin was arrested in absentia in connection with this case. Six days later, his case was sent to the Moskovsky District Court in Cheboksary, a city on the Volga River, and on 26 May it began to be considered on its merits. However, cases under Part 2 of Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code are supposed to be tried by magistrates’ courts.

Kochkin’s court-appointed defence is lawyer Anatoly Petrov. The activist has not been able to reach him: the lawyer does not respond to his messages.

“In the new case, I’ve been assigned a court-appointed lawyer. I don’t know them and, of course, haven’t hired them myself. I found their WhatsApp, but there’s been no reply yet, possibly due to blocks,” the activist writes on social media.

  • In December 2025, Kochkin was sentenced in absentia to two years in a penal colony for “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code), “participation in an extremist organisation” (Part 2, Article 282.2), and evasion of foreign agent obligations (Part 2, Article 330.1).
  • Kochkin faced the “discrediting” charge because of posts on “Angry Chuvashia,” while the “extremist organisation” charge related to content about the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and Navalny’s underground offices. The “foreign agent” article was brought for failing to label his posts as required.
  • The activist was also accused of repeated demonstration of banned symbols, because of references to the “Freedom of Russia” Legion. However, this accusation never made it to court.
  • Kochkin left Russia in 2021, after the FBK and Navalny’s offices were banned. In 2022, he was added to the list of foreign agents. After leaving, the activist reported pressure from law enforcement on his sister, who was visiting him abroad.