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The 51-year-old Eskova was detained on 10 July, and on 11 July the Central District Court of Sochi sentenced her to 15 days under the article on displaying forbidden symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code). The report was drawn up because of a comment the woman had left in the Telegram channel of the “I Want to Live” project: “There’s nothing to discuss here GLORY TO UKRAINE,” wrote the Sochi resident.

On 21 July, Eskova’s husband learned that she was in a psychiatric and neurological clinic. She had been hospitalised there after spending five days in the special detention centre, where she attempted suicide. He was not informed about what had happened.

It is unknown why Eskova tried to take her own life. Relatives believe she was subjected to pressure in the detention centre. Her husband was able to speak with her for only five minutes. He plans to meet with the clinic’s chief doctor soon to find out what happened to his wife and how long they intend to keep her there.

In addition, Eskova’s husband was not allowed to attend the court hearing in which her report was considered, nor was he told which detention facility she would be serving her sentence in. He later managed to find out where his wife was being held, but a visit was not permitted.

“VKontakte,” at the request of Roskomnadzor, has blocked more than a dozen groups from Vologda, reports 35Media.

The media outlet “EZh” writes that most of these groups contained criticism of Georgy Filimonov, the Governor of Vologda Region, and local officials.

The block affected, among others, the public pages “Vologda Micro-society,” “The North—Homeland of the Brave,” “SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT HERE…,” “Meeting Place Cherepovets,” “Our North,” “REGION35.INFO. Vologda News,” and “ChB Double 2.”

In April, three more groups on VKontakte were blocked for criticising the governor. These were the pages of the “Russian North” TV channel and the “Speech” and “Voice of Cherepovets” newspapers. All these resources are part of the Vologda-based “Media-Centre” media holding.

Vera Otryeshko, an activist from Kazan, was fined over a solo picket held on 24 February 2025 with a placard reading: “There is no path, we must turn back.” The court’s ruling was noticed by “Verstka.”

On 7 May, the Vakhitovsky District Court in Kazan found Otryeshko guilty of “discrediting the army accompanied by calls for unauthorised actions” (Article 20.3.3, Part 2 of the Administrative Code). The activist was fined 90,000 roubles (about US$960).

The ruling records that Otryeshko did not admit guilt and denied involvement in the offence in question.

The protocol against Otryeshko was drawn up on the basis of posts published on Telegram channels “Respublikasy” and “Activatica” on 24 February 2025, marking the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The first post featured a photo of a solo picket in Kazan, showing a person holding a placard reading: “There is no path, we must turn back.” In this phrase, the fragments “Пути н…” (“No path…”) and “сво” (“svo”) were highlighted in red—a visual allusion to “SVO” (the Russian abbreviation for “special military operation”). The picketer’s face was not visible in the photo. “Activatica” had a similar post, but specified that the picket took place near the “Kazan” Family Centre, and included hashtags such as #нетвойне (#nowar).

At the request of the police, staff at Kazan Federal University carried out a psychological and linguistic analysis of these posts. The authors of the analysis considered them to contain signs of discrediting the “goals of the SVO” and encouraging protest actions against the war.

The court’s decision did not state that Otryeshko herself had published these posts—only that she had carried out the solo picket.

The protocol against the communist was drawn up on 2 July. The grounds were a fragment of his speech at a legally authorised rally on 1 May, in which he spoke about fascism in Russia and the involvement of far-right groups in the war in Ukraine on the side of the Russian army:

“Essentially, what we’re witnessing today is exactly the kind of fascisation of the political regime that officials talk about from the podium—except they usually point elsewhere, to the West. ‘That’s where the fascists are, and here in Russia we have a bourgeois democracy.’ But we look around and see—who is their favourite philosopher, Ivan Ilyin, the ideologue of Russian fascism? Could it be our own president’s favourite? We look again and see—who is stirring up national hatred with state funding? Isn’t it that same ‘Ridovka,’ which isn’t just nationalist but truly Nazi? We look—who is fighting in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces? Could it be the so-called Russian fascists, including those with swastika tattoos?”

According to the case materials, the prosecutor’s office considered Krupenko’s mention of far-right involvement in the war in Ukraine on the Russian side to constitute discrediting the Russian army.

On 7 July, the Sovetsky District Court in Tomsk fined Viktor Muchnik, editor-in-chief of the publication “Govorit NeMoskva,” 5,000 rubles (US$55) under the article on participation in the activities of an “undesirable organisation” (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The court’s decision was noted by Mediazona.

According to the decision, the local prosecutor’s office found a video recording of an interview “with a historian and journalist from the city of Tomsk, who, in the form of an interview, shares with listeners their views on the history of Tomsk, Siberia, historical and contemporary figures connected to the aforementioned regions, and also discusses the prospects for separation and the future of Siberia.”

The ruling does not specify the media outlet on whose channel Muchnik appeared, but provides the length of the video, which matches the duration of the “City Code” podcast episode from 19 August 2024, published on YouTube. The podcast is a project of Radio Svoboda (Radio Liberty), which was declared an “undesirable organisation” in February 2024.

“Today our guest is Viktor Muchnik. Historian, journalist, and editor-in-chief of the legendary Tomsk TV company TV2, he talks about the historical and cultural heritage of his native Tomsk, its role in Russian history, the colonisation of Siberia by Russia, and what it means to be a Siberian today: ” as stated in the episode’s written description.

Viktor Muchnik is the former editor-in-chief of the independent Tomsk TV channel TV2. In 2014, the channel was disconnected from broadcasting, and the editorial team continued working as a news agency. In early March 2022, the TV2 website was blocked, and Muchnik announced the closure of the agency. Muchnik himself soon emigrated and, together with former colleagues, launched the “Eyewitnesses” project, dedicated to the lives of people affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The organisers cancelled rapper Jah Khalib’s performance at the “RMK Energy” festival on City Day in Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Urals, reports It’s my city.

Initially, the festival’s press release announced Lesha Svik, Mot, Jah Khalib, Gayazovs Brothers and Big Baby Tape, but a day later the organisers asked for the rapper’s name to be removed from the announcements.

In July, the rapper was supposed to give two concerts in Moscow, but the organisation “Voice of the People” and its chair Sergei Zaytsev complained about the posters, as Jah Khalib had “publicly expressed his love for Ukraine.” The concerts were cancelled. In 2023, Jah Khalib’s performances were also cancelled in St Petersburg and Moscow.

Maria Makhmutova, a resident of Irkutsk (a major city in eastern Siberia), was fined 45,000 roubles (approx. US$500) under the article on “discrediting the army” (Part 1 Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code) after she insulted Russia Day and participants in the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the press service of the Kirovsky District Court of Irkutsk.

On 12 June, Makhmutova posted a video on her Instagram account, which has more than five thousand followers, criticising the Russia Day celebrations and condemning participants in the war in Ukraine:

“What kind of holiday is this, for fuck’s sake? What an awesome holiday—Russia Day. And what, are you fucking proud of something? What are you proud of, for fuck’s sake? That you’re living—scraping the bottom of the barrel? That you have to kill people to buy yourselves cars and flats, for fuck’s sake, and drink like it’s the last day on earth, and wear those fucking medals. Your medals today—they’re a mark for life, a stigma for life, that you’re fucking murderers. <…> If all the SVO [‘special military operation’] people die tomorrow, I’ll drink to that.”

After this, activists from the pro-government “Call of the People” movement reported her to the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General’s Office. On 13 June, law enforcement came to her flat. She refused to open the door and threatened to harm herself. In the end, emergency services workers forced the door and Makhmutova was detained. A protocol was then drawn up against her. She was jailed for 13 days under an administrative protocol for assault (Article 6.1.1 of the Administrative Offences Code), accused of kicking a police officer, and then for a further five days under a protocol for drug use (Part 1 Article 6.9 of the Administrative Offences Code) because of “Corvalol.”

After her administrative arrest ended, the blogger was sent to a pre-trial detention centre under criminal charges of insulting a government representative (Article 319 of the Criminal Code) and using violence against a government representative (Article 318 of the Criminal Code).

The bookshop Falanster has been fined 800,000 rubles (approx. US$8,900), and its general director Boris Kupriyanov 100,000 rubles (approx. US$1,100) under the article on so-called “LGBTQ propaganda” (part 1, article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by Mediazona.

In late May, the court had already issued fines to both the shop and Kupriyanov on charges related to an “undesirable organisation.” At that time, Falanster was fined 80,000 rubles (approx. US$900), and its co-founder received a fine of 40,000 rubles (approx. US$450). The reason was a book by Belarusian anarchist and political prisoner Igor Olinevich about being held in the KGB detention centre in Minsk. Russian law enforcement decided the book had been published with the support of the “Anarchist Black Cross Federation,” which is considered an “undesirable organisation” in Russia.

We originally wrote that Kupriyanov was fined under the article for participating in the activities of an undesirable organisation (article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences), based on information from the “Word to the Defence” channel. This article is also listed in the case summary. However, it is clear from the published decision that Kupriyanov was found guilty specifically of ‘LGBTQ propaganda.’ We apologise for the error.

The Smolninsky District Court in St Petersburg has fined the European University 250,000 roubles (US$2,800) under an administrative charge of inciting hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Offences Code) towards Russian forensic experts, according to the city’s joint court press office.

The administrative case was prompted by a 64-page analytical report, “How and by Whom Forensic Examinations Are Conducted: Experts in the Context of Interagency Collaboration.” It was published in the journal of the Institute for the Rule of Law at the European University at St Petersburg in 2024.

In September of the same year, the European University’s website featured a news item announcing the release of this report (it has since been deleted, but an archived version remains online). The announcement stated that the report’s authors had examined various aspects of the work of forensic experts in Russia, particularly forensic doctors and criminalists from the expert-criminalist centres of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice. The research was based on interviews with the experts themselves.

In April 2025, the prosecutor’s office took note of the report. At its request, staff of St Petersburg State University submitted their assessment of the report, stating that it contained “signs aimed at denigrating the dignity of a group of people based on their membership of the social group ‘Russian forensic experts.’”

“The signs of denigrating the dignity of the group ‘forensic experts’ are expressed in harm to the professional (business) reputation of representatives of this social group,” the court press office stated.

As reported by Fontanka, a representative of the university requested in court that an expert review of the report be conducted, on the grounds that the accusation was based solely on the opinions of St Petersburg State University staff. The prosecution did not oppose the request, but the court refused the defence’s application.

The university representative also asked for the case to be discontinued. She stressed that the report was compiled from dozens of interviews with experts, lawyers, investigators and judges, meaning the opinions expressed in it were entirely subjective. The defence also argued that the report had been prepared in line with standards of professional ethics, and that it contained no insults or denigration.

Additionally, the university supported its position in court by providing independent reviews of the report from two specialists, including one from the Vinogradov Institute of the Russian Language of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Roman Malozemov, an independent candidate for the Novosibirsk city council in Siberia, has been added to the register of “persons affiliated with foreign agents.” He received notification of this after he had collected the signatures required to stand for election. The document was published by the Telegram channel “Sibirsky Express.”

Malozemov registered as a self-nominated candidate from constituency No 6. The day after he announced he had collected all the necessary signatures, he was handed a notification from the head of the district election commission. The document stated that, according to a Ministry of Justice check, Malozemov “has the status of a person affiliated with a foreign agent.” The check, according to the notification, was conducted on 25 June 2025—the very day Malozemov began collecting signatures for his candidacy.

Malozemov does not know exactly which organisation he is supposedly “affiliated” with. “I don’t know which foreign agent I’m affiliated with—maybe Monetochka, because I listen to her on Yandex Music,” he commented.

Malozemov also noted that he was unable to check the register, as it is closed to the public. The self-nominated candidate has started collecting signatures again and is also preparing a court claim.

The concept of persons “affiliated” with “foreign agents” appeared in Russian legislation in 2022. It is a list of individuals whom the Ministry of Justice has not included in the official “foreign agent” list, but whom it nevertheless considers connected to those people and organisations already designated. The “affiliated persons” list is not public, and it is unknown who is included or on what grounds. As of November 2023, there were 861 people in the “register of persons affiliated with foreign agents.” Ministry of Justice staff say that most were connected with “activity during the preparation and conduct of elections.”

A resident of Tula Region has been fined 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) for anti-war graffiti on an asbestos pipe. This was reported by the regional Interior Ministry press service.

The 59-year-old man was found guilty under the article on “discrediting” the Russian army (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). According to the claim by the Telegram channel “Tula. ExtremiZm,” which is linked to law enforcement, the man had drawn the Ukrainian flag on the pipe and written the words “US ARMY” and “HIMARS.”

The St Petersburg City Court has received a lawsuit from the prosecutor’s office demanding that the song “Turn Off the Anthem” by Pornofilmy be recognised as extremist material. This was reported by Daria Lebedeva, head of the press service for the St Petersburg courts.

Prosecutor’s office specialists concluded that the track contains psychological and linguistic indicators of incitement to commit crimes based on political, ideological, racial, national, and religious grounds. The experts also believe the song calls for violence against government authorities and their representatives.

The prosecutor’s office is also asking for the song “Turn Off the Anthem” to be added to the federal list of extremist materials.

The respondents named in the case are Pornofilmy vocalist Vladimir Kotlyarov, drummer Kirill Muravyov and bass guitarist Alexander Agafonov.

The hearing to consider the lawsuit is scheduled for 13 August.

“Turn Off the Anthem” was released in 2014 as part of the album “Youth and Punk Rock.”

This is not the first song by the band the Russian authorities have attempted to ban. In 2023, links to their track “This Will Definitely Pass” were added to the list of banned materials by Roskomnadzor. In September 2021, the song “Kill the Poor” was declared extremist. Later, the organisation “Network Freedoms” managed to overturn this decision, but in 2023 a court once again declared the track banned.

On 9 July, the Ust-Yansky District Court in Yakutia fined local resident Danil Nevidomsky 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) for allegedly shouting the slogan “Glory to Ukraine.” SOTAproject drew attention to the court’s decision in a post.

He was found guilty under the article concerning the promotion of extremist organisation symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). According to the court’s decision, Nevidomsky uttered the phrase while intoxicated during a conversation with others on the premises of a company dormitory.

The defendant denied any wrongdoing, saying that he did not shout the slogan and that his conversation with witnesses actually took place a kilometre away from the dormitory. In court he explained that during a conflict he had said that “they would be more useful if they were at the special military operation (SVO).” Nevidomsky believes that one of the witnesses falsely accused him due to personal animosity and “because of jealousy towards a woman from a neighbouring organisation.”

44-year-old carpenter Dmitry Gerya was sentenced to five days of administrative detention because of a chain with a trident pendant. The local news outlet “Ostorozhno, novosti” (“Caution, News”) drew attention to a ruling by the Golovinsky District Court in Moscow ordering the resident’s arrest.

According to the court, on 6 July Gerya went outside wearing a chain with a white metal pendant shaped like a trident emblem. The court held that by doing so, he “committed public demonstration of the Nazi symbolism of extremist organisations” (part 1, article 20.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences).

The man pleaded guilty and said that a friend had given him the chain 10 years ago.

“After drinking, he decided to put it on without paying attention to the image or the inscription,” the court ruling says.

In addition to the administrative detention, the court also ordered the confiscation of Gerya’s pendant.

On 10 July, the Tagansky District Court received four protocols: against actress Yana Troyanova, the author of the podcast “Decline of the Empire” Andrei Aksenov, journalist Fidel Agumava and member of the “Freedom of Russia” legion Aleksei Baranovsky. Protocols were drawn up against them for failing to include a “foreign agent” disclaimer in their publications (part 4, article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

On 11 July, the same court received a protocol against economist and former Putin adviser Andrei Illarionov, who was accused of failing to submit a quarterly report (part 2, article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences). However, his case was transferred from the Tagansky Court to another court according to jurisdiction.

Three more protocols under the article on failure to provide a report were submitted to the Basmanny Court on 10 and 11 July. They were filed against singer Monetochka, journalist Anna Narinskaya and Alexander Shvarev, whom the Ministry of Justice considers one of the authors of the Telegram channel “VChK-OGPU.”

On 10 July, twenty protocols were immediately submitted to the Khoroshyovsky Court. Eight of them were drawn up against the “Andrei Rylkov Foundation for Health and Social Justice” and another 12 against its founder, Anna Sarang. In all these cases, they are accused of failing to provide a report. The foundation worked to defend the rights of people who use psychoactive substances, helping them access treatment and resolve legal issues and mental health problems. Last summer, Sarang reported that the foundation ceased operations in December 2023 after losing funding due to its “foreign agent” status, assigned back in 2016.

On 30 June, the Pervomaysky District Court in Murmansk fined Yuri Sergeyev, a staff member of the environmental group 'Bellona', for participating in the activities of an “undesirable organisation” (Article 20.33 of the Administrative Code). The court’s press service reported this, as noted by Mediazona.

Sergeyev was given a fine of 5,000 roubles (about US$55). According to the court ruling, the administrative case against the environmentalist was initiated because his photo and description appear in the staff section on the website of the international environmental movement 'B'.

The case concerns the Norwegian environmental foundation Bellona, which was recognised as an “undesirable organisation” in Russia back in 2023. Bellona campaigns, among other things, for reducing black carbon emissions from maritime transport.

Mediazona notes that from 2020 to 2022, Sergeyev headed Bellona’s office in Murmansk, a major city in the far northwest of Russia. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he emigrated to Lithuania.

A police van is parked near the bar. According to preliminary information, several people were detained. One person who reported the events said that attendees were questioned about their attitude toward the war in Ukraine, LGBTQ issues, and certain banned organisations. The security forces also checked the guests’ social media profiles.

The band Chéterio is a project of performer Natasha Chéterio. In 2024, the singer released a music video for the song “Suspended Sentence.”

20:55 Police detained singer Natasha Chéterio, but soon released her. One of the witnesses reported this to OVD-Info.

Chéterio and four others were taken to Police Station No. 5. A few people, including some minors, remain at the station, waiting for their parents to arrive.

As reported by SOTAvision, one person was forcefully detained after arguing with officers. They were handcuffed. There are no police officers left inside the bar.

21:35 The young person who was forcefully detained and handcuffed has now been released. They themselves told OVD-Info about this.

Six administrative offence reports for so-called “LGBT propaganda” (part 3 of article 6.21 of the Administrative Code) have been drawn up against blogger Veronika Koshkina. Mediazona reported on the case files, which are listed in the database of Moscow city courts, in these records.

It is not known what triggered the administrative proceedings. Koshkina runs an Instagram blog about her life and travels with her girlfriend.

The Leninsky District Court of St Petersburg has fined LGBTQ priest Alexander Khmelev 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) under the article on “discrediting” the Russian army (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by the outlets “78” and “Bumaga.”

The reason for the administrative proceedings against Khmelev was a number of YouTube videos featuring him. The specific statements attributed to the priest were not disclosed.

Citing an unnamed source, the outlet “78” also reports that authorities are currently considering whether to open criminal and administrative cases against Khmelev “for the creation of an extremist community and promotion of LGBTQ ideology.”

As Khmelev told the LGBTQ publication “Parni+,” he served as an altar server in the Russian Orthodox Church from 2005 to 2012. He later joined the True Orthodox Church, where he was ordained as a priest. Eventually, he became a minister in the Association of Christian Eucharistic Communities and founded a community for LGBTQ Christians in St Petersburg.

In June 2025, the Ministry of Justice listed Khmelev in the register of “foreign agents.” According to the Ministry, the priest participated in creating and distributing materials from other “foreign agents” and “undesirable organisations,” and spread false information about decisions by Russian authorities.

On 12 July Alexander Khmelev left Russia. This was reported by lawyer Vladimir Vasilenko.

He stated that the priest left the country “after threats of persecution by law enforcement, voiced via anonymous Telegram channels.” Khmelev’s cat remains in Russia, and the lawyer is looking for a home for it.

Yesterday, several channels and outlets, including Mash na Moyke, the outlet “78,” and the law enforcement-affiliated resource “Operativnye Svodki”, published information that Khmelev may face several administrative and criminal cases. In particular, “for creating an extremist community and publicly promoting LGBTQ ideology.”

The Sverdlovsk District Court in Irkutsk fined local resident Anton Tkachenko 10,000 rubles (approximately US$110) on 19 June under the article on inciting hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences) against the social group “hunters.” The research centre Sova has drawn attention to the case file on the court’s website and the news story on its own site.

The fine was handed down over a comment on a post about the Ministry of Natural Resources dropping a controversial draft of new hunting regulations which proposed extending the hunting season for brown and Himalayan bears.

The Sova Centre noted: “We do not know exactly what Tkachenko wrote. However, we have doubts as to whether hunters can be considered a vulnerable group in need of special protection from manifestations of hatred.”

The Tushinsky District Court in Moscow fined elderly military veteran Eduard Goida 30,000 roubles (approx. US$325) under the article on “discrediting” the Russian army (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by “Ostorozhno, novosti” (“Careful, news”).

Earlier, it had been reported that a protocol had been drawn up against Goida over some “conversation in the street.” It has now become known that the reason for the fine was a conflict with his neighbour, Sorokina. The woman was creating graffiti depicting soldiers and the words “Salute to you, soldier of Russia.” Goida called Russian army soldiers “criminals and occupiers” and also said he would spoil the graffiti if it included the St George’s Ribbon or the letter “Z.” Sorokina reported her neighbour to the authorities.

In court, Goida said that he had served in the army for many years and respects the St George’s Ribbon, and he also provided a certificate confirming his disability.

Three reports have been drawn up against the Mangalib manga fan club under the article on “LGBTQ propaganda” (Art. 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing the court’s press service.

Previously, a report had already been drawn up against Mangalib for “LGBTQ propaganda” among minors (part 2 of Art. 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The court will consider this case on 28 August.

The reports have been submitted to the Tagansky District Court in Moscow. The reason for their submission is unknown.

The editor-in-chief of Sport24, Samvel Avakyan, has been fined 200,000 roubles (approx. US$2,250) under the article on LGBTQ propaganda in the media or online (Part 3, Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by TASS.

The decision was made by the magistrate of judicial precinct No. 374 in Moscow’s Tagansky district. Avakyan was held responsible as an official. In the same court, another case against Avakyan has been scheduled for 29 July—this time under the article on LGBTQ propaganda among minors (Part 4, Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

14 July The reason for the fine against the Sport24 editor-in-chief was a news story about the coming out of Czech speed skater Martina Sablikova, who spoke about her relationship with Nicola Zdrahalova, another athlete from the national team. This was reported by Verstka, which drew attention to the published court ruling.

“The information in the article is presented exclusively in a positive light, indicating that the athletes have been in a relationship (as a couple) for a long time, they are happy together, and share a wonderful life. The content is such that it creates a socio-psychological attitude not only of approval for non-traditional sexual relationships but also forms a distorted idea of the social equivalence of traditional and non-traditional sexual relationships,” the court decision states.

The document also references an assessment by the “Main Radio Frequency Centre” under Roskomnadzor, which concluded that the material contains “information promoting non-traditional sexual relationships and/or preferences.”

The news story on the Sport24 website was published in April 2025. It has now been removed. Avakyan, through his representatives, told the court he does not admit guilt.

A protocol was drawn up against Pavel Osipov, an activist with the “Sterlitamak, Breathe!” movement, under the article on the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations on the internet (Part 4, Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences), reports “7×7.”

The court will consider the case on 15 July. According to Osipov himself, the grounds for the protocol were a photo published on social media in October 2024. He took the image from case material in which he was working as a lawyer. The picture shows two young women kissing, one of whom was a figure in an extortion case. According to the activist, the complaint against him was written by a local resident, Viktoria Pivovartseva.

Osipov is known as a campaigner against air pollution in Sterlitamak, a city in Bashkortostan. In 2023, activists held a protest wearing gas masks, and in autumn 2024 they gathered 17,000 signatures on a petition calling for the resignation of officials responsible for the environment. Two years ago, police came to Osipov’s workplace after he was photographed next to a poster saying “For Putin! For victory! For clean air!” during a city run.

A resident of Pskov Region has been fined 30,000 roubles (approx. US$330) for expressing opposition to the war in a forest plantation near a military firing range and unfurling the flag of a foreign state. This was reported by the press service of the Pskov Region courts.

“He responded inappropriately to remarks from military servicemembers about the inadmissibility of such public statements, using obscene language,” the press service noted.

The decision in the case of “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) was handed down by Pskov District Court in Pskov Region, a city near Russia’s north-western border. The press release refers to the citizen held accountable as ‘D.’ On the court’s website there is a record for the case of Alexey Danilov, which is scheduled for hearing on 9 July.

On 28 May, the Kerch City Court in occupied Crimea upheld a fine against local resident Irina Khokhatkina: 100,000 roubles (approximately US$1,100) for posting memes featuring men in wedding dresses. This information appeared on the court’s website and was noted by Verstka media.

Khokhatkina was found guilty under the so-called “LGBTQ propaganda” article (part 3, article 6.21, Code of Administrative Offences). The grounds were two posts on VKontakte. In one of them, there were four memes featuring men in wedding dresses with captions: “Why should I invite you on a date?,” “I was waiting for you to make the first move,” “Let’s split the bill,” and “Prove and show that you need me.” According to the court’s decision, the memes “show the appearance of men with characteristics that, in Russian culture, do not correspond to the image of a man of traditional sexual orientation,” and also display “traditional feminine traits and features.”

The other post that caught the attention of law enforcement was a video “showing two girls in bed, naked and kissing.”

The case was initially tried in a magistrate’s court. In her appeal, Khokhatkina noted that the memes with men in wedding dresses were a repost from a public page about relationships between men and women and remain publicly accessible.

Activist Zulfiya Sitdikova from Kazan, a major city in Tatarstan, has been fined 80,000 rubles (about US$900) under the offence of “discrediting the army with calls for unsanctioned rallies” (Part 2, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences), reports ASTRA.

The report against her was drawn up over a street photo. According to the court, Sitdikova took a photograph in the street in Kazan of a person holding a placard reading: “There’s no way, it’s time to turn back,” and then published the photo in an anonymous Telegram channel. The court considered this discrediting the army.

In May 2024, Sitdikova was given a two-year suspended sentence with a four-year probation period, for repeat discreditation of the armed forces (Part 1, Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code) and “rehabilitation of Nazism” (Part 3, Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code) due to placards reading “No to war” and “9 waya.”

The activist was detained at the end of May 2023, but was released from the police station without charges; she had not held a picket. On 18 July, it became known that following this detention, a criminal case was initiated against Sitdikova for “discrediting the armed forces,” her home was searched, and she was released afterwards. The case also includes a second episode: a placard reading “No to war,” left at the Eternal Flame in Kazan’s Victory Park.

The Kirov District Court in Crimea has fined the independent Muslim community “Eski Qırım” 400,000 roubles (approx. US$4,400) under the article on spreading “extremist” materials (Article 20.29 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by Crimean Solidarity, citing lawyer Nazim Sheikhmambetov, who represented the community in court.

The reason for the fine was the discovery of books in the “Zubeyr-Jami” mosque in Stary Krym, a town in Crimea, which are classified as “banned” in Russia. It is in this mosque that members of the “Eski Qırım” community and other worshippers gather.

According to Sheikhmambetov, there were breaches in the case by law enforcement officers, who carried out operational-search activities (ORM) in the mosque. In particular, the lawyer claims that police officers entered the building 10 minutes before the rest of the ORM participants.

“The [CCTV] footage shows those who entered turning off the electricity switch, cutting power to the mosque. One of them went into the hall, and then they both gestured towards something. There could be many assumptions about what exactly the officers did there. Only after this did the officers leave the mosque, invite in the ORM participants, public representatives and the [mosque] owner, and then ‘discover’ the [banned] books. This is a gross violation of ORM procedure. This protocol cannot be considered valid,” the defence lawyer stated.

He also pointed out that the “Eski Qırım” community does not own the “Zubeyr-Jami” mosque and therefore cannot be held responsible for everything that happens inside it.

In February 2024, law enforcement raided the homes of the “Eski Qırım” community imam Izet Saifullin, chair Idris Yurdumov, and two activists—Lenur Yakubov and Shevket Kiyamov.

Yurdumov was released with a protocol for possessing “banned” literature (Article 20.29 of the Administrative Code). Later, under this protocol, the community was fined 100,000 roubles (approx. US$1,100). Saifullin received a protocol for violating rules on missionary activity (Part 4, Article 5.26 of the Administrative Code), and Yakubov received a protocol for displaying extremist symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code).

N. Strometsky, a resident of Kotelnikovo in Volgograd region, was sentenced to seven days of administrative arrest for shouting “Glory to Ukraine” and “Ukraine will win” in the street. This was reported by the Dozor v Volgograde channel.

Protocol reports were drawn up against Strometsky for promoting banned symbols (Art. 20.3 of the Administrative Code) and “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces (Art. 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). In court, the Kotelnikovo resident admitted guilt and expressed remorse. The judge found no mitigating circumstances in the case.

A report on the “discrediting of the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) has been drawn up against Alexander Shikolai, frontman of the deathcore band Slaughter to Prevail. The case file at the Nagatinsky District Court in Moscow was discovered by Mediazona.

The grounds for the report are currently unknown. There are anti-war posts on the band’s social media pages. For instance, on 26 February 2022 the band’s Facebook page published a statement: “No to war! Our band has nothing to do with politics, we do not take sides. We support all peaceful people in this world and peace worldwide. We do not accept ANY kind of military action.”

On Instagram, Shikolai also spoke out against the war: “This is an official statement from the whole band. We are against war. We are against any war. It is very painful to watch what is happening in Ukraine now. We have been to Ukraine many times. Please don’t judge all Russians. We wish peaceful skies to Ukraine!”

In an interview with Yuri Dud, Shikolai also said that his band stands “against any military conflicts, wherever they happen and whoever is involved,” and added that he would not continue the subject as he “might say too much.”

19:52 The Nagatinsky District Court in Moscow has fined Alexander Shikolai 50,000 roubles (approximately US$550) over the case of “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces. This was reported via the Moscow courts’ official channel.

The reason for the fine was not explained by the court press service.

Denis Zagorye, a journalist from Murmansk who works for the Barents Observer, has been fined five thousand roubles (about US$55) under the article on participation in the activities of an “undesirable” organisation (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported on the publication’s website. The decision was made today by the Oktyabrsky District Court in Murmansk, a city in Russia’s far north.

“I chose to work here a long time ago. Nothing will change in my work,” commented Zagorye on the court’s decision, which he called unlawful.

At the start of 2025, the Prosecutor General’s Office declared the Barents Observer “undesirable.” The agency claimed that the publication’s journalists “openly support the West’s sanctions policy and call for increased NATO military presence at our borders.”

Staff at the Barents Observer disagreed with the decision and filed a lawsuit against the Prosecutor General’s Office, stating that recognising the publication as “undesirable” “violates freedom of the press, which is guaranteed by the Russian constitution.”

A protocol for “LGBT propaganda” (Part 1 of Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences) has been drawn up against the bookshop “Podpisnye Izdaniya.” This was reported by “Bumaga,” citing the press service of the city courts.

It is not yet known what exactly prompted the protocol. On 10 April, law enforcement officers visited the bookshop for an inspection. They confiscated several dozen books that mentioned LGBT issues. After the inspection, “Podpisnye Izdaniya” was given a list of 48 books that needed to be removed from the shop’s shelves.

At the end of May, the shop was fined 800,000 roubles (approx. US$9,000) under the same article. The Kuibyshev District Court found “LGBT propaganda” in Susan Sontag’s books “On Women” and “Against Interpretation and Other Essays,” as well as Olivia Laing’s “The Lonely City.”

In June, the court fined Elena Orlova, the director of “Podpisnye Izdaniya,” 20,000 roubles (approx. US$225). She was charged under the article on cooperation with an “undesirable organisation” (Art. 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences) because of Igor Olinevich’s book “I’m Going to Magadan.” The police and court claimed that the book was published with the support of the Belarusian Anarchist Black Cross, which is designated as “undesirable” in Russia.

10 July—The Kuibyshev District Court in St Petersburg closed the case against “Podpisnye Izdaniya” due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, reports the United Press Service of the city’s courts.

The shop was accused of selling 37 books which, according to experts from the Herzen State Pedagogical University, allegedly contained LGBT propaganda.

A 38-year-old resident of Sevastopol has been fined 69,000 rubles (US$765) over comments in Telegram chats. This was reported on the Ministry of Internal Affairs website.

According to law enforcement, the woman had previously “lived in Kyiv for a long time” and returned to her hometown in 2017 “to obtain a Russian Federation passport for inheritance purposes.”

Officials allege the Sevastopol local repeatedly posted in “pro-Ukrainian themed” chats, sharing her “positive emotions regarding air raid sirens in the city [Sevastopol], openly expressing her joy.” They also claim she changed her nickname each month to “avoid detection.”

Some of her comments included: “Here in Crimea, there are more and more who hate you <…>,” “Go off to the front, you couch worm,” “I belong to no one, I support Ukraine. You’re filling people’s heads with the idea that everything must be given up: give your house to the Buryats, pimp out your mum <…>, but at least you’re all <…> and lick the ‘liberators.’ Maybe they’ll toss you a bone.”

The woman was detained on the street by OMON police. She has been charged with inciting hatred (part 1 of article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code) and twice with “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces (part 1 of article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code).

Law enforcement have also sent case materials to the Investigative Committee under a criminal article on spreading “fakes” (para. “d” part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). The woman faces up to ten years in prison.

The Smolninsky District Court of St Petersburg sentenced local resident Evgeny Elgin to 10 days of administrative detention. According to the court, he posted a comment in the Telegram channel of journalist Alexander Nevzorov, beginning with the words: “Glory to Ukraine—Glory to the Heroes….”

The court deemed this to be “the official greeting of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN),” which is designated as extremist in Russia. Elgin received administrative detention under the article on propaganda of Nazi symbols (part 1, article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

A tribute concert to Noize MC in Barnaul, a major city in Siberia, had to be cancelled following pressure from pro-government activists. This was reported by “7×7,” citing organiser Oleg Grigoryev.

The event had been scheduled for 17 July. “The reason for the cancellation is quite simple: Z-activists woke up, and, as I understand it, it wasn’t any particular group but rather individual citizens. First, they left negative comments under the concert announcement post, then started sending private messages. One man was especially active and I believe he ‘helped’ in this situation, since we were made to understand ‘from above’ that it would be better to cancel the concert to avoid consequences,” Grigoryev explained. He added that previously, he had freely held tribute concerts in the city for anti-war performers such as Zemfira, Pornofilmy, and Nervy.

“7×7” also noted that activists from the Young Guard of United Russia may have contributed to the event’s cancellation. One of them, Elena Bessonova, wrote under a post about the cancellation: “We didn’t let it happen, together.”

• In November 2022, Noize MC (real name Ivan Alekseyev) was declared a “foreign agent.” The musician left Russia after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
  
  

A resident of Magadan was fined 10,000 rubles (about US$110) for commenting “A bunch of devils and cops” under a photo of police officers. SOTA drew attention to the court’s decision.

Denis Rovinsky, who is from Magadan (a city in Russia’s Far East), left this comment on the Magadan Region Directorate of the Interior Ministry’s page on Odnoklassniki under a photo from a police garrison lineup marking the 70th anniversary of the regional headquarters.

The man’s comment was sent for analysis to the Interior Ministry’s expert forensic centre, which concluded that it expressed a negative attitude towards Interior Ministry staff and the leadership of Magadan Region’s authorities.

The court found Rovinsky guilty of inciting hatred (Art. 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code). During the hearing, he admitted his guilt.

The Yeltsin Centre has cancelled the dramatic performance “At the Speed of a Play” following a post in the “UralLive” channel, which is connected to the propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. This was reported by It’s My City.

The performance was due to take place this evening and was intended to mark the end of the theatre season at the cultural venue. According to the idea of its creator, Maria Kontorovich, head of the Yeltsin Centre’s theatre platform, she would have created a play together with the audience in real time during the event.

A day before the performance, the “UralLive” channel posted criticism of Kontorovich. The author of the post accused her of supporting Ukraine due to a flag on her profile picture on Facebook and an anti-war letter published on her page.

“There’s also a strange video post on her page about our soldiers: ‘Perm, Yekaterinburg—take your people back from here—the prisoners, the dead, and those who have not yet landed in the meat grinder’—that’s the caption placed above a video about our prisoners. Why is this necessary?,” reads the “UralLive” post.

The channel also claimed that “an open supporter of Ukraine has no right to hold” the position of head of the Yeltsin Centre’s theatre platform.

On the evening of 4 July, the post announcing Kontorovich’s performance was deleted from the Yeltsin Centre’s Telegram channel. The venue’s press service confirmed to journalists that the event would not take place, but did not state the reasons for the cancellation.

In April, the Yeltsin Centre removed the play “I Killed the Tsar” by director Vladimir Mirzoev from its programme, and in February a planned event with poet German Lukomnikov was cancelled. According to “UralLive” and the “Russian Community,” these figures allegedly hold anti-Russian views.

In May, it became known that a lecture by philosophy populariser Dmitry Khaustov would not be held. And in mid-June, the centre removed a lecture by Nikolai Nakhsunov, a lecturer at Shaninka, from its schedule. This also followed a post in the “UralLive” channel.

In Sochi, a woman originally from Azerbaijan has been fined for pro-Ukrainian slogans. This was reported by the outlet “Sochi Online.”

The amount of the fine is unknown. The court found the woman guilty under the article on promoting or displaying the symbols of an extremist organisation (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code).

As the Telegram channel Baza reported, a Sochi resident named Esmira was walking down the street and shouting certain pro-Ukrainian slogans. “The woman wanted to express her protest over the recent tension in Russian-Azerbaijani relations,” Baza wrote.

Two days later, Esmira was detained so that a protocol could be drawn up.

On 2 July, the Pervorechensky District Court of Vladivostok fined computer company manager Dmitry Bolychev 30,000 roubles (about US$325). OVD-Info found this information on the court’s website.

The court found Bolychev guilty of “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces (part 1 of article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The case was triggered by an anti-war comment he left in a Telegram channel belonging to the outlet NEWS.VL, under a post about the construction of a bridge to Yelena Island in Vladivostok (a port city in Russia’s Far East).

Bolychev wrote: “What I mean is that Russia is killing Ukrainians. On mainstream channels there are calls for the death of Ukrainians and for the destruction of cities. Ukraine is being denied subjectivity, and Ukrainian citizens—the right to self-determination. This is exactly what Nazis do.”

In court, the Vladivostok resident admitted his guilt and agreed with the protocol drawn up against him.

On 6 June, the Khasansky District Court in Primorsky Krai sentenced a local resident, Alexei Bedarev, to 12 days in detention for the comment “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!” in a Telegram chat. SOTA reports this.

He was found guilty under the article on displaying symbols of an extremist organisation (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code). In the court’s ruling, it is stated that these slogans are considered symbols of the “Ukrainian National Revolutionary Army” (UNRA).

The comment in question appeared in the chat of the Telegram channel Sasha Shpack Official, which belongs to the blogger and bodybuilder Aleksandr Shpak. In September 2024, Shpak himself was sentenced in absentia to eight years in a penal colony for anti-war posts.

At the court hearing, Bedarev admitted his guilt and stated that he did not know the slogans were associated with a banned organisation.

A protocol for “discrediting the army” (part 1, article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) has been drawn up against Yelizaveta Snimshchikova, a representative of the Commissioner for Human Rights in Kaluga region. OVD-Info found a case file on the website of the Zhukovsky District Court in Kaluga region.

Snimshchikova told OVD-Info that the protocol was drawn up because of two of her Telegram avatars: in one, she was wearing a brooch shaped like a heart in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, and in the other, there was a caption reading “No to war.”

After the protocol was filed, she submitted a letter resigning her authority as a representative.

The court will review the protocol on 31 July.

Snimshchikova is a lawyer and mother of three children. She was the ombudsperson’s representative in Tarusa district, where she received appeals from local residents. The regional ombudsperson’s report for 2024 noted that Snimshchikova worked on appeals relating to the rights of children, housing rights, the payment of pensions and social welfare, the provision of housing and communal services, and healthcare.

Russian courts have banned four pages about the Russian army on censored Wikipedia analogues, “Ruviki” and “Runiversalis.” This was reported by Verstka. The decisions to restrict access to these pages were handed down by courts in the Kirov region, Tomsk and Altai Krai.

According to Verstka, the restricted articles covered the 8th and 13th missile divisions, and the 35th and 74th separate guards motorised rifle brigades. Prosecutor’s office staff requested that access to all these pages be limited. In their version, the “Ruviki” and “Runiversalis” websites published information that constitutes “official secrecy in the field of defence.”

One of the court rulings states that the page about the 74th brigade contained data “revealing [its] deployment, actual name, organisational structure,” as well as information on available weaponry, military and specialised equipment.

At present, the “Ruviki” service has deleted the article on the 8th missile division, while information about the 13th missile division has disappeared from “Runiversalis.” However, the latter online encyclopaedia still has articles available about the 74th and 35th motorised rifle brigades.

• “Runiversalis” and “Ruviki” were launched after the start of the war in Ukraine. Both projects were set up using Wikipedia as a base, copying and censoring its main set of articles. In particular, Verstka notes that, after launch, “Ruviki” deleted a page about “Putin’s palace” as well as references to the Russian occupation of Ukrainian territories.

At the request of the Sovetsky District Court of Astrakhan, Roskomnadzor has blocked access in Russia to the website of the Declarator project, which focuses on officials’ incomes and property. The project team announced this.

The court ordered the blocking as a provisional protection measure in response to an administrative lawsuit—pending a decision on the case itself. Earlier, the Astrakhan Region prosecutor’s office filed the lawsuit demanding a block, alleging “discrediting of the institution of state power.”

“Back on 16 May, the court ruled that Roskomnadzor must block our site. Neither before nor during the proceedings were we notified of any grievances. Even though the project’s contact email is listed on literally every page of the website. The case file is written in such a way that our project is not mentioned at all,” Declarator stated.

No final decision on a permanent block has yet been made.

Two lecturers at St Petersburg State University have been fined under the article on “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by TASS, citing Veronika Peshina, a spokesperson for the city courts’ joint press office.

The Kalininsky District Court imposed a 30,000-rouble fine (approximately US$340) on Yury Yakuboviy, Associate Professor at the Department of Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics. According to the press office, he “posted publications discrediting the army in two Telegram channels.”

The second university employee, Aleksandr Zelnitsky, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Theory and Methodology of Teaching Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, was fined 35,000 roubles (approximately US$400) by the Moskovsky District Court of St Petersburg. The press office did not specify what prompted the fine for the lecturer.

At the request of a person involved, information about action against another individual has been removed from this report.

On 27 June, the Verkh-Isetsky District Court of Yekaterinburg fined architect Polina Ivanova 40,000 roubles (approx. US$450) under the article on ‘discrediting’ the army (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by Mediazona.

Earlier, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court overturned a fine for the same amount previously handed to Ivanova in this administrative case. The case was then sent to another court for review.

Ivanova was detained on 30 April so that a protocol could be drawn up. The reason was her anti-war post on Facebook, published in February 2022. Because of the detention, the architect had to cancel a lecture on the history of Yekaterinburg, which was planned for the same day.

Two weeks earlier, the Piotrovsky bookshop cancelled the launch of Ivanova’s book, A Guide to Sverdlovsk and Yekaterinburg. This happened after a post from the pro-government channel UralLive, which was circulated by the right-wing Russian Community movement. The propagandists drew attention to the event announcement and began criticising Ivanova for her anti-war stance and alleged cooperation with Leonid Volkov’s brother.