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The TV channel Dom Kino Premium has significantly censored the satirical film “Day of Radio.” The project “We Can Explain” draws attention to this.

Scenes featuring Maksim Pokrovsky (of “Nogu Svelo”), Ilya Lagutenko (of “Mumiy Troll”), as well as the Ukrainian music group “Vopli Vidoplyasova,” have been cut from the film.

In addition, in the opening credits the names of journalist Mikhail Kozyrev of Dozhd TV (who played one of the main roles), actor Maksim Vitorgan, and Aleksei Kortnev, leader of the band “Neschastny Sluchai,” were blurred out. The roles played by Kozyrev and Vitorgan remain in the film, but with significant cuts.

All the artists who were censored have condemned the war in Ukraine. Pokrovsky and Kozyrev have also been designated “foreign agents.”

Previously, Dom Kino Premium removed a photograph of Alla Pugacheva from the film “Icebreaker.”

In the project’s backup channel last night, it was reported that the main channel was deleted without any prior warning. The authors of “VChK-OGPU” suggest that the leadership of the messenger service was behind this move.

The channel’s removal is likely connected to a decision by the Tagansky District Court in Moscow. On 3 December 2024, the court fined the messenger 4 million roubles (approx. US$44,000) for failing to remove prohibited information (Article 13.41, part 2, of the Code of Administrative Offences). The reason was Telegram’s refusal to take down 13 channels and eight posts, among which was “VChK-OGPU.” The Prosecutor General’s Office had demanded the channels be deleted on various grounds—including allegations of spreading “fakes” and discrediting the Russian military.

In addition to “VChK-OGPU,” five more channels covered by this ruling, which reported on political events in Russia and the war in Ukraine, were deleted today. In each case, new channels appeared at those addresses, noting they were created only today. At the former link for “VChK-OGPU,” there is now a channel called “Pozdnyakov 4.0,” with a cover photo of “Male State” founder Vladislav Pozdnyakov. At the address of another deleted channel, a page now appears called “We Will Win in the Special Military Operation!”

14:03 The Telegram press service claims the “VChK-OGPU” channel was deleted by its owner, according to a report by Mediazona.

“The channel was deleted by its owner, possibly as a result of unauthorised access. We are conducting an investigation,” the press service told the publication.

Shortly before this, the Dossier Centre wrote that the founder of “VChK-OGPU” had confirmed to them that the channel was deleted by the messenger’s administration. They also stated that the account used to register the channel is now blocked.

On 1 April, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow fined Meduza special correspondent Lilia Yapparova 15,000 roubles (approximately US$160). This was reported by the city courts’ unified press service.

Yapparova was found guilty under the article on participation in an “undesirable” organisation (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences). It is not known exactly what led to the fine.

In January 2023, the Prosecutor General’s Office declared SIA Medusa Project (the legal entity of Meduza) an “undesirable” organisation.

Roskomnadzor has blocked the website of the publication Glasnaya following a decision by an “unnamed government agency,” according to a report by Roskomsvoboda.

Glasnaya is described on its website as a “social journalism project aimed at overcoming stereotypes and promoting gender equality in Russian society.” The specific reason for the blocking is unknown.

Roskomsvoboda notes that the project was blocked by a ‘mask,’ meaning all domains and subdomains were affected.

The project was included in the list of “foreign agents” on 4 April.

The editor-in-chief of Vecherniye Vedomosti, Vladislav Postnikov, who was twice arrested in administrative cases for displaying banned symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code), has had their status as a member of the local electoral commission revoked ahead of time. This was reported by It’s My City, which drew attention to the decision by the Verkh-Isetsky Territorial Election Commission in Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Urals.

The decision was made on 3 April, following the entry into force of the Kirovsky District Court of Yekaterinburg’s ruling in the first banned symbols demonstration case.

Since 28 February, Postnikov was arrested twice in succession for 14 days each due to old posts in his Telegram channel featuring photos showing the logos of Navalny’s headquarters and, in one case, the NBP. On 28 March, Postnikov was detained for a second time in a row as he left the detention centre, but soon after, the journalist was released from the police station where he had been taken.

“When this measure of enforcement was applied to him—being taken to the station—the police were obliged to draw up an appropriate report on his transfer, a copy of which, upon request, should have been given to Vladislav. The same applies in the case of an administrative arrest. However, this was not done,” his lawyer pointed out.

The TV channel “Yu” muted the word “abortion” in the latest episode of the reality show “Pregnant by Deception,” as noted by Novaya Gazeta Europe.

The mention of abortion was muted in two segments, one of which featured a participant saying that, according to doctors, she was still within the term to terminate her pregnancy. This version of the episode appeared on the TV channel’s website, as well as on its YouTube and RuTube channels.

Novaya Gazeta Europe notes that although the show previously avoided mentioning abortion or discussed it only in a negative light, the procedure itself was not previously censored by name.

The show “Pregnant by Deception” tells the stories of women who became pregnant by married men. Each episode opens with a disclaimer: “Yu Channel supports traditional family values. A family based on respect and fidelity is the foundation of a strong society.” The same channel also airs two other reality shows about unplanned pregnancy: “Mum at 16” and “Pregnant at 45.”

Yevgeny Malyugin, a member of the Tula branch of the “Rassvet” party, has been fined 100,000 roubles (approximately US$1,100) under the law against “LGBT propaganda” (Part 3 of Article 6.21 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by a Telegram channel connected to law enforcement agencies.

An administrative case was opened against the young man because of photos in his personal Telegram channel.

Malyugin was detained on 27 February. In addition to the “LGBT propaganda” charge, he was also charged with “discrediting the army” (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code).

• The “Rassvet” party was founded in 2024 by former presidential candidate Yekaterina Duntsova. She said her party stands against the war, supports democratic reforms, and calls for the repeal of laws that violate Russians' rights, for instance, the law on “foreign agents.” In May 2024 Duntsova herself was added to the list of “foreign agents.”

Two women from Tomsk have been detained over a video in which they advised marrying a Russian soldier and making money from his death. This was reported by the regional office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Both were made to apologise on camera.

Earlier, a video recording of a podcast appeared on social media, in which the host asked real estate agent Marina Orlova how a woman over the age of 30 could afford to buy a flat. Orlova replied that in such a situation, a woman could marry “a man who is serving in the special military operation,” wait for his death, and then receive a government payout of eight million roubles (about US$87,000).

17:55 Marina Orlova was charged with inciting hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The court sentenced her to 80 hours of community service. This was reported by the “Mily Tomsk” Telegram channel.

The woman admitted guilt and expressed remorse. She does not plan to appeal the court’s decision.

4 April The podcast host, Darya Cherdantseva, was sentenced to 85 hours of community service under the same article, writes “Mily Tomsk.”

Moscow resident David Gevondyan was arrested on 26 March for 10 days over a Ukrainian Insurgent Army flag (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code) and fined three times under the so-called LGBT “propaganda” law (Part 3, Article 6…). The Nagatinsky district court rulings in Moscow were noted by Mediazona.

The court considered one of Gevondyan’s “VKontakte” page images to be a demonstration of banned symbols: it depicted the Ukrainian Insurgent Army flag, the phrase “Russia and the car brand—brothers forever,” and a depiction of two hanged men. It is unknown what exactly this image looks like or what it means. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army was designated as an “extremist” organisation in 2014.

Gevondyan was prosecuted under the LGBT “propaganda” article for three images: one of two men kissing, one of men dressed in women’s clothing, and one of men “dressed in women’s clothing and accessories (children’s hair clips).” The amount of fines imposed on the Moscow resident was not disclosed in the reports.

The Yeltsin Centre has cancelled the performance of the play “I Killed the Tsar,” directed by anti-war theatre director Vladimir Mirzoev.

The message on the centre’s website simply reads: “The performance is cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience.” No reason is given for the cancellation.

The play “I Killed the Tsar” tells the story of the execution of the Russian royal family in 1918. It was written by the playwright Oleg Bogaev and directed by Mirzoev. The production by the Moscow-based theatre troupe “Prostranstvo Vnutri” (“Space Within”) was scheduled for 5 June.

It’s My City reports that the show was cancelled after a post in the Telegram channel “UralLive,” run by a team in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals, associated with propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. The channel described Mirzoev as an “anti-Russian director,” noted that he had signed an anti-war letter, and accused the production of a “controversial portrayal of the execution of the royal family.” The post ended: “Why is the Yeltsin Centre putting on this kind of blood-soaked spectacle? The question is rhetorical.”

On 24 February 2022, the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mirzoev, along with other directors, writers and artists, signed an open letter demanding an end to the war. The authors called Russia’s actions a “disgrace.”

In Nizhny Tagil, a city in the Ural region, Alexander U., who had been sentenced to compulsory labour, was arrested for six days over a sticker featuring the symbols of the “AUE movement,” reports the publication “Mezhdu Strok” citing the press service of the Leninsky District Court of Nizhny Tagil.

As the court told “Mezhdu Strok,” Alexander U., while at the correctional centre hostel, sent a chat sticker “depicting a child with tattoos bearing the AUE symbols on the right and left chest.” He was found guilty of displaying prohibited symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

The Oktyabrsky District Court in Irkutsk has fined the deputy general director of the Irkutsk Electric Grid Company, Aleksei Drobashenko, 30,000 roubles (approx. US$330) under the administrative article on “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by Kommersant.

The decision was issued on 1 April. Drobashenko called the ruling unfair and plans to appeal.

Kommersant writes that previously, activists from the pro-government organisation “NOD Baikal” submitted a report to the authorities about Drobashenko. They asked the prosecutor’s office to investigate him over a post in the “On Duty in Siberia” Telegram channel on 6 January 2025. The activists believe Drobashenko is an administrator of that channel.

In their complaint, the activists wrote that in the January post “the author calls the special military operation ‘tragic February,’ ‘massive madness,’ and describes the Russian army itself as ‘parade-ready.’”

The description of the “On Duty in Siberia” Telegram channel now states that it is run by several people. In the past, some posts were published in the first person. After the court’s decision to impose a fine, a statement appeared on the channel on behalf of Drobashenko, saying that all posts on the channel not signed with his name “are not my own authored publications.”

Drobashenko is known as a PR specialist. He helps Russian military personnel involved in the invasion of Ukraine, makes films about them, and has raised funds for them. One of the participants in the war came to the court yesterday to support him.

Roskomnadzor has demanded that the Telegram channel “Ostorozhno, novosti” remove material about the person killed and those injured as a result of a drone attack on Kharkiv. This was reported by the channel’s editor-in-chief, Sergey Titov, on his personal channel.

The agency insists that this publication “discredits the use of the Russian Armed Forces within the framework of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine” and contains false information.

“The text made no mention whatsoever of the Russian military, just as in all previous publications, it was simply information about those injured, citing the local authorities and accompanied by an image from local social media. A very dry presentation, which until now had always seemed legal,” commented Titov on Roskomnadzor’s demand. The post has now been deleted from the channel.

Titov believes the agency’s demand is “the consequence of creating a register of blogs with more than 10,000 subscribers.” He noted that the letter from Roskomnadzor was sent to the email address linked to the “Gosuslugi” account, which “Ostorozhno, novosti” had used to submit their data for inclusion in the list of channels and social media pages with an audience of over 10,000 users.

The law requiring owners of channels and pages with more than 10,000 subscribers to submit their data to Roskomnadzor came into force in November 2024. According to the plan of the authorities, owners who fail to provide this data to Roskomnadzor will not be allowed to carry advertising or display information about their sources of funding, and social networks will have to restrict access to them.

The Kirovo-Chepetsk District Court has fined prisoner Nikita Zhadanov 10,000 roubles (approximately US$110) over remarks about Russians and the slogan “Glory to Ukraine.” This was reported by the outlet Idel.Realii, which highlighted the decision on the court’s website.

The record was drawn up based on testimony from three other prisoners. They alleged that Zhadanov, in the presence of inmates from one of the units, said that “the Russian population are weak in spirit, consume alcohol,” “are incapable people,” and also voiced the slogans “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!”

The author of the linguistic analysis found that Zhadanov’s words displayed signs of inciting hatred against Russians. The expert’s conclusion, summarised in the court ruling, stated: “The aim of such statements is to provoke feelings of contempt and enmity towards Russians, both as citizens and as military personnel, and to demonstrate a positive attitude towards present-day Ukraine.”

On 26 March, the court found Zhadanov guilty under the article on incitement of hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences). He also admitted his guilt.

The Nevsky District Court of St Petersburg fined Bishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko of the Apostolic Orthodox Church 30,000 rubles (approx. US$320) under a charge of “discrediting the army” (part 1, article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code), according to Mediazona.

The reason for the charge was a video posted on the priest’s Telegram channel on 11 March 2022, in which he discusses the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

The court also viewed the video: “I am endlessly grateful that we are discussing this recording now. Perhaps it was one of my most important speeches or messages. The understanding people had back then, three years ago, is very different today. Today, we have hope as we hear talk of a peace deal, but at that time, nothing was clear,” Mikhnov-Vaitenko said during the hearing.

He did not admit guilt over discrediting the army, but added that he would continue to discredit the idea of resolving conflicts by force.

“What I would like to discredit, and will continue to do so, is the very idea of solving inter-state problems through force. I consistently oppose any kind of fighting. This is a consistent position, based on the saying—please excuse yet another quote—‘blessed are the peacemakers,’” said Mikhnov-Vaitenko (quoted by RusNews).

His lawyer, Andrey Chertkov, argued that the case materials distorted the essence of the priest’s statements. In the video, he was addressing parishioners with an interpretation of the parable of the herd of swine possessed by demons. According to the lawyer, in the charge sheet the police officer “took a series of phrases from different parts of his address” and “created the appearance of a statement by misquoting and taking words out of context.” “The police inspector expressed a subjective opinion in the report,” the lawyer concluded.

He also noted that the statute of limitations for this case had expired.

Priest Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko holds anti-war views. After the start of the Russian invasion, he began helping Ukrainian refugees.

The Meshchansky District Court in Moscow has fined political analyst Ekaterina Schulmann and Central Asia specialist Temur Umarov for their cooperation with the Berlin-based Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, according to TASS and SOTAvision.

Each of them was fined 10,000 roubles (approx. US$110) for “participating in the activities of an ‘undesirable organisation’” (under Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences), as the centre is affiliated with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Last year, the Endowment was declared ‘undesirable’ in Russia.

In Schulmann’s case, the prosecutor’s office, which drew up the report, noted that the political analyst is mentioned as an expert for the Berlin Carnegie Center in the media. The case files also referenced her interview on the centre’s YouTube channel.

Schulmann’s lawyer, Alkhas Abgadzhava, pointed out procedural violations during the hearing: Schulmann’s place of birth was listed incorrectly in the report, and her old passport details were used.

The defence also disagreed with the charge itself: “Participating in activities means facilitating some kind of activity… If an interview with the President of the Russian Federation ends up published on the resources of an ‘undesirable organisation,’ that does not mean the prosecutor’s office would consider them a person facilitating undesirable organisations.”

On 24 March, the Cherepovetsky City Court of Volgograd Region fined local elderly man Nikolai Strebkov one thousand roubles (US$11) for a video featuring ‘FBK symbols.’ This was reported by the SOVA Research Centre.

The man was found guilty under the article on public demonstration of extremist symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Offences Code). A report was filed against Strebkov after police found a video on his VKontakte page containing some symbols from the Anti-Corruption Foundation. He has since deleted the video.

The Uvelsky District Court in Chelyabinsk Region has fined Yuri Gurman, co-chair of the Golos movement, 40,000 roubles (about US$440) for a speech at a public hearing in which he failed to state that he has been declared a “foreign agent” by the authorities. This was reported by 7×7, which noted a post from the court’s press service.

Gurman was found guilty of failing to declare his “foreign agent” status (Article 19.34, part 3 of the administrative offences code).

The court stated that in November 2024, Gurman spoke at a public hearing for residents of Khomutinino—a village in the region—attended by more than 100 people. He addressed the heads of Uvelsky municipal district and Khomutininskoye rural settlement, but “did not state his foreign agent status.”

The hearing discussed the issue of merging rural settlements in Uvelsky district in order to convert it into a municipal district. In the end, the majority of participants voted in favour of the merger.

On 25 March, the Central District Court of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Khabarovsk Krai fined local resident Sergei Averkiev under the article on displaying banned symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Offences Code). The research centre “SOVA” drew attention to the case file.

The administrative protocol was drawn up because of two photos on his VKontakte page which, according to law enforcement, featured the symbols of the banned “I/We are Sergei Furgal” movement.

At the hearing, Averkiev explained that he had posted the photos back in 2020 because he wanted “to express his legal position” and was unaware that the organisation had been designated extremist. He deleted the photos before the court session.

The “I/We are Sergei Furgal” movement was declared an extremist organisation in February 2024.

Roskomnadzor has blocked the website of the Saratov-based media outlet Svobodnye Novosti (fnvolga.ru), the outlet itself reports.

The reasons for the block are unknown.

In October 2024, the outlet’s licence was revoked.

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The editor-in-chief of the Yekaterinburg-based outlet Vecherniye Vedomosti, Vladislav Postnikov, was detained for a second time in a row as he left the special detention centre after serving a 14-day jail term. This was reported by lawyer Georgy Krasnov on his Telegram channel.

SOTAvision writes that Postnikov was due to be released from the detention centre today at 11:30 local time, but at 11:33 he was taken away by the police.

From the special detention centre in Nizhny Tagil—a large city in the Urals—the journalist is to be brought to the Ministry of Internal Affairs office in Yekaterinburg, where a third protocol is to be drawn up against him for banned symbols (article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The lawyer added that the protocol will once again be drawn up “for posts in his Telegram channel from years ago.”

According to the defence, the protocol will be reviewed after lunch at the Akademichesky District Court of Yekaterinburg. The exact time of the hearing is not yet known.

Postnikov has now spent 28 days in the detention centre. He was detained for the first time on 28 February. Back then, the protocol was drawn up against the journalist because of a post from four years ago featuring the logo of Navalny’s headquarters, which were designated as an extremist organisation. The court jailed Postnikov for 14 days. He was meant to be released on 14 March, but was detained again and given another 14 days in jail under a similar protocol—this time for posts from 2020 and 2021 that featured Navalny’s headquarters’ symbols and the NBP logo.

13:35 Vladislav Postnikov has left the police station: officers have not drawn up any documentation to legalise his detention, reports Vecherniye Vedomosti.

“The police officers, […] after putting him [Postnikov] in the car, effectively abused their official powers by unlawfully holding him in the vehicle,” Vecherniye Vedomosti writes.

“Since Vladislav has been a free person since 11:30, when applying a coercive measure such as being brought in under the administrative case, police officers were required to draw up the appropriate documentation regarding his escort, a copy of which they should have handed to Vladislav upon request. The same applies in cases of administrative detention. However, this was not done,” commented the journalist’s lawyer, Ekaterina Kuvaldina.

The outlet emphasises that Postnikov will appear for the drafting of the protocol at the station once he is summoned following proper procedure.

Correction: It was mistakenly stated that Postnikov left the courthouse, not the police station

The Prikubansky District Court in Krasnodar heard administrative cases against blogger Vladimir Vanyan, who was detained following posts in Z-channels. This was reported by the press service of the Krasnodar Krai courts.

For ‘discrediting the army’ (Article 20.3.3, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences), Vanyan was fined 100,000 rubles (approx. US$1,100), and for ‘insulting authorities’ (Article 20.1, Part 3), he received a 50,000 rubles fine (approx. US$550). Yesterday, he was also arrested for 13 days under a protocol for disobeying the police (Article 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

Vanyan was detained after pro-government blogger Vladislav Pozdnyakov posted five short excerpts from the blogger’s YouTube livestream. In the video, the man said: “Karabakh is Armenia, and Krasnodar is Armenia.” Responding to a comment that the FSB “will be waiting for you on the street” for such words, Vanyan replied: “Fuck off, the FSB can suck my dick, we’re waiting, your FSB is a prick.” When asked about his attitude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the blogger said: “What kind of fucking special military operation? I don’t give a fuck either. Look, we’re grilling fucking kebabs, drinking cognac and whisky.”

Pozdnyakov also posted a video of Vanyan’s detention. FSB officers stopped the blogger on the road, pulled him out of the car, forced him face-down on the ground, and put handcuffs on him. The man identified himself and answered questions from the officers, after which he was dragged into a minibus. According to Vanyan, he felt unwell at the time of the detention.

After being detained, Vanyan recorded a video apologising, in which he said he “sincerely asked forgiveness” from the FSB officers and Russian soldiers involved in the invasion of Ukraine. “I am ready to defend Russia with arms in hand <…> I love Russia, I am ready to serve Russia. That’s why I shaved off my beard, tidied myself up—we’ll serve with arms in hand in the special military operation,” the detainee said.

The TV channel Dom Kino, which is owned by Tricolor, blurred out a photograph of Alla Pugacheva in the film “The Icebreaker.” This was pointed out by a viewer of Oleg Kashin’s YouTube channel and by “Agentstvo”.

The film was broadcast in this form on the channel overnight into Wednesday, 26 March.

The film “The Icebreaker,” released in 2016, tells the story of the icebreaker “Mikhail Somov,” which became trapped in the Antarctic ice and drifted for 133 days. Pugacheva appears on a calendar, which one of the characters approaches to cross off the date.

Alla Pugacheva condemned the war in Ukraine and left Russia. Because of her anti-war stance, pro-government media regularly criticise the singer, and NTV has released five “hit pieces” on Pugacheva since the start of March, reports Agentstvo.

The “Yandex.Music” platform has removed several tracks from Noize MC’s new album “Not All at Home” at the request of Roskomnadzor. This was reported by RBC and SOTA.

The tracks “Not All at Home,” “Cryochambers,” “Land of Rain,” and “Cooperative ‘Swan Lake’” have disappeared from the streaming service.

“Yandex.Music has received an official order from Roskomnadzor to restrict access to a number of tracks by Noize MC. According to the law ‘On Information, Information Technologies, and Information Protection,’ Yandex.Music is obliged to comply with such demands within 24 hours,” the service’s press office told RBC.

Noize MC released his tenth studio album, “Not All at Home,” on 14 March. This is the artist’s first album since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “This album is about all Russias at once—the abandoned and the vanished, the inner and the incurable, the rejecting and the rejected,” the musician said in an interview with Meduza.

28 March The “Roskomsvoboda” project noted that songs by Noize MC had appeared in the register of banned websites. The links in the register lead to various music services.

The project clarifies that these are the same tracks that were previously removed from Yandex.Music at Roskomnadzor’s request. The agency specified that they demanded their removal “for spreading false socially significant information.”

The Moscow City Court has overturned, on appeal, the deportation order issued against Petar Martić, the founder of the bands Pasosh and Prygai Kiska. This was reported by the press service of the Moscow courts.

In January 2024, Martić was found guilty under an administrative article on the promotion of drugs (Part 2, Article 6.13 of the Code of Administrative Offences). He was fined 20,000 roubles (approximately US$220) and ordered to be deported from Russia.

The protocol against the musician was drawn up over the song Nasekomoye (“Insect”) by Prygai Kiska, recorded together with the rapper Boulevard Depo. The track begins with the words: “no more joints.”

Martić was born in Belgrade in 1993, and in 2002 moved with his family to Moscow. His band Pasosh broke up in 2021 after Martić’s ex-partner, singer Anna Zosimova, accused him of physical and psychological abuse. Since then, he has continued to perform as a solo artist.

The Ust-Kut City Court has fined local resident Kseniya Kuznetsova 15,000 rubles (about US$165) for criticising a banner featuring a soldier who died in the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the 7×7 news outlet, which drew attention to the court’s published decision.

The ruling was delivered on 6 March. Kuznetsova was found guilty of discrediting the army (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). She also admitted her guilt.

Although the minimum fine for discrediting the army is 30,000 rubles (about US$330), the judge imposed a lower amount on Kuznetsova, as she is raising three young children alone and also has a disability.

In November 2024, Kuznetsova posted a video on VKontakte showing the banner with the words “Glory to Russian heroes” along with a photo of the deceased soldier, and criticised it. She said she did not understand the need for “glory, which I couldn’t care less about in the grave.”

“A rich, healthy, strong, sturdy man up until his very death, influential, powerful—that, damn it, is glory in my personal, subjective view,” she added.

Law enforcement took notice of the video after it was shared on pro-government Telegram channels, including by Irkutsk-based blogger Ilya Filippenko. (Irkutsk is a major city in Siberia.)

After Kuznetsova was detained, the Interior Ministry for Irkutsk Oblast released a video of her apologising to the regiment in which the deceased soldier had served, as well as to the people of Russia.

Roskomnadzor has blocked a VKontakte group dedicated to the 'Baimak case'. RusNews drew attention to this.

The community called ”Baimak. Arrests. Chronicle of Events” is now unavailable to users in Russia. The group coordinated support for those involved in the case and published news about them.

• In January 2024, a wave of protests took place in Bashkortostan, a region in the Urals, in response to the sentencing of local activist Fail Alsynov. This was followed by a series of administrative cases involving several hundred people, as well as a criminal case opened over alleged mass unrest.

The Leninsky District Court in Krasnodar has sentenced blogger and powerlifter Vladimir Vanyan to 13 days’ detention on charges of disobeying the police (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Offences Code) after he faced pressure in pro-war Z-channels. This was reported by the court’s press service.

As Mediazona reports, on 24 March, five short clips from Vanyan’s stream were posted by a pro-government nationalist blogger, Vladislav Pozdnyakov.

In the videos, the man says: “Karabakh is Armenia, and Krasnodar is Armenia.” Responding to a comment warning that the FSB would be waiting for him in the street for saying such things, Vanyan replied: “Fuck off, the FSB can suck my dick, we’re waiting, your FSB is a cunt.” When asked his position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the blogger said: “What fucking special military operation? I don’t give a fuck. Here we are, fucking about, barbecue, cognac, whisky.”

Vanyan’s YouTube channel, “Zolotoy 123,” is now hidden and the stream footage is no longer available. The blogger had nearly 10,000 subscribers.

Today, Pozdnyakov published video of Vanyan’s detention. FSB officers stopped the blogger on the road, pulled him out of the car, forced him face down on the ground, and handcuffed him. The man gave his name and answered questions from the security services, after which he was dragged into a minibus. According to Vanyan, he felt unwell at the time of his detention.

After his detention, Vanyan recorded an apology video in which he “sincerely apologised” to FSB officers and Russian soldiers involved in the invasion of Ukraine. He said: “Ready to defend Russia with arms in hand <…> I love Russia, ready to serve Russia. So they’ve shaved my beard, tidied me up—we’ll serve with arms in hand in the special operation.”

Vanyan has been charged with disobeying the police. According to the court’s press service, during his detention, the man refused to show his passport to the officers, began shouting, and tried to escape. In addition, he has been charged with insulting government authorities (part 3, article 20.1 of the Administrative Offences Code) and “discrediting” the army (article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code). The court has not yet considered these charges.

An employee of the Ministry of Education and Youth Policy of Sverdlovsk Region was detained in Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Urals, when he held a solo protest against the “Truba” monument, which commemorates the deployment of Russian troops to Sudzha (Kursk Region). This was reported by Ura.ru.

The placard had “a message of condemnation regarding the installation,” an eyewitness to the protest told the outlet.

The young person was charged with discrediting the army (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). According to Ura.ru, they are being held in a detention facility. The protester’s phone was confiscated.

14:20 The detainee’s name is Roman Gilmanov, reports “7×7—Horizontal Russia.”

A protocol was also drawn up for disobeying the police (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code), for which he was sentenced to 15 days in jail. This was reported by the press service of the Kirov District Court of Yekaterinburg.

On 24 March, the court registered three administrative protocols for the absence of a label identifying materials as belonging to a “foreign agent” (Part 4, Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code). These were filed against Olga Romanova, head of the Rus’ Sidyashchaya foundation, blogger Darya Bogdanova (known as “Pepel Klaasa”), and journalist Andrey Soldatov. Previously, the Ministry of Justice had designated all three as “foreign agents.”

A further four administrative protocols were drawn up under the article concerning the absence of “foreign agent” labelling in materials from a participant or head of a public association or legal entity listed in the “foreign agent” register (Part 5, Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code). These were issued to one of the creators of the media outlet Ateo, Grigory Ozerov; journalist Dmitry Kovalenko, whom the Ministry of Justice regards as the author of the Nezygar channel; journalist Maria Volokh, whom the Ministry links to the “Mozhem Obyasnit” project; and Elizaveta Tsybulina, whom the Ministry considers a participant in the human rights project “First Department.”

The court hearings for these administrative offence protocols have not yet been scheduled.

Last week, on 19 March, Moscow courts received 13 administrative offence protocols at once, also for violations of the “foreign agent” legislation.

A protocol on “LGBT propaganda” (Part 1, Article 6.21 of the Administrative Code) has been drawn up against a 60-year-old resident of Belovo, a city in the Kemerovo region of Siberia. This was reported by Vesti Kuzbass.

The man was detained after videos appeared on social media showing him walking down the street in a women’s jacket and “making indecent proposals to passersby.”

Over the week starting 12 March, Roskomnadzor sent Google 47 requests to remove VPN services from the Google Play app store. This was reported by journalist Maria Kolomychenko, as noted by Mediazona.

According to the Lumen database, where Google publishes information about content removal requests, Roskomnadzor demanded the removal of HideMyNetVPN, Secure VPN, VPN Monster, and Galaxy VPN, among others. The agency claims that these services “contain prohibited information about methods and techniques for accessing information resources and/or telecommunications networks that are restricted within the Russian Federation.”

Kolomychenko points out that previously, Roskomnadzor did not submit requests to remove VPN services from Google Play at this frequency. Most of these services rely on the infrastructure of the US-based CDN provider Cloudflare.

Yesterday, 20 March, in Siberia and the Urals—a large region of Russia stretching east of the European border—there was a major disruption affecting websites that use this service. Roskomnadzor stated that the problems were linked to “the use of foreign server infrastructure, where these failures are being recorded,” and recommended switching to Russian hosting providers.

The Khamovnichesky District Court received a case concerning the lawyer Elena Lukyanova.

The Tagansky District Court registered cases concerning journalist Mikhail Zygar, participant in the “Freedom of Russia” Legion Alexei Baranovsky, the head of “First Department,” Dmitry Zair-Bek, journalist Alisher Adbulaev, Anti-Corruption Foundation staff member Maria Pevchikh, politician Mikhail Khodorkovsky, sex educator Sasha Kazantseva, journalist Igor Yakovenko, blogger Yury Dud, journalist Renat Davletgildeev, historian Konstantin Pakhalyuk, and comedian Semyon Slepakov.

Residents of Siberia are reporting problems accessing the internet, reportedly due to the blocking of CloudFlare services. This has been written about by SOTA and “Ostorozhno, novosti”.

According to discussions on thematic forums, the issue has affected home internet connections; services such as Speedtest and Deepseek are not working, nor are VPN services. Moreover, access has been lost not only to websites blocked in Russia, but also to permitted ones—including some online games.

Last autumn, Roskomnadzor blocked many CloudFlare services using the Encrypted Client Hello technology, which allows users to circumvent restrictions. In February, the company was added to the list of information dissemination organisers, which obliges the service to provide information on clients to the Russian authorities.

On 17 March, the Leninsky District Court in Samara fined activist and elderly woman Natalya Baranova 10,000 roubles (approx. US$110) under the article on inciting hatred or enmity (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by Idel.Realii.

Baranova was accused of inciting hatred towards FSB officers. Charges were brought over a post on her Telegram channel from 20 December last year, in which she spoke about the case of the “Community of Indigenous Russian People of Samara Region” involving Lyubov Kuzaeva and Ilya Martyshkin, and suggested that their cases were fabricated.

Baranova later edited the post on the advice of her lawyer. In the original version, she referred to the FSB as “the most vile of the security agencies.” A linguistic examination by the Russian Interior Ministry’s Forensic Centre in Samara Region concluded that the post portrayed “FSB officers as a source of harm and evil” and contained statements about “the need for hostile (violent) actions by one group against another group.”

Baranova did not admit guilt. She said she wrote the post in the heat of the moment and expressed her disagreement with what was happening and with the investigator’s actions. The activist and her defence pointed out that the post had already been amended and had caused no harm to anyone.

A 21-year-old Moscow resident has been sentenced to 10 days’ detention for having “saved” images with rainbows and LGBT-themed memes. This was reported by the channel “Ostorozhno, Moskva.”

The woman was arrested on 18 March under the article on the “promotion of non-traditional sexual relations” (Art. 6.21 of the Administrative Code). She faced six charges at once because of images published between 2016 and 2018. In addition to arrest, the woman from Moscow was also fined. The amount of the fine is unknown.

Case materials show that the presence of “LGBT propaganda” was established by an expert. The expert stated that the woman had posted on social networks “an image of a person wrapped in a flag that is the international symbol of the LGBT community, specifically the ‘Rainbow Flag,’ holding a wand in one hand and an energy drink in the other, with captions on the image: ‘I am the fairy of gay energy drinks and cats,’ ‘Vzhukh and you’re a f*ggot’” (original spelling preserved).

Russian online streaming platforms have cut a scene from the American sitcom Silicon Valley in which startup founders discuss masturbating other men. This was reported by Baza.

In the final episode of the first season, the main characters take part in a startup competition and joke that they are prepared to masturbate every man in the audience if it would help them win, summarises Mediazona. The programmers then start coming up with an algorithm for how to do this most efficiently. This three-minute scene is missing from the version of the show available on platforms such as Kinopoisk, Okko and Ivi.

A court in Moscow has fined a student a total of 302,000 rubles (approx. US$3,300) over saved images of two women kissing and a rainbow flag. This was reported by the outlet “Ostorozhno, Moskva” (“Careful, Moscow”), citing the young person, who asked not to be named.

According to him, he saved the images on his VKontakte page back in 2018, when he was still at school. He described being detained and taken to the police.

“It was my birthday. As I was coming out of the entrance, they took me by the arms and put me in a minibus. In one day, we were taken to the district police department, then the prosecutor’s office and the court; it took five hours in total. While we were driving in the minibus, I deleted all my saved items and hid my profile,” Ostorozhno, Moskva quotes the student as saying.

The police drew up three charges against him under the article on “promotion of non-traditional sexual relations” (Art. 6.21, Code of Administrative Offences) due to the images of women kissing. Another charge—under the article for displaying extremist symbols (Art. 20.3 of the Code)—was brought against the student over the rainbow flag.

For the first three charges, the young man was fined a total of 300,000 rubles (approx. US$3,275), and for the “extremist symbols” article—an additional fine of 2,000 rubles (approx. US$22).

In Saratov, a major city on the Volga River, a protocol for displaying banned symbols (Article 20.3, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences) was drawn up against photographer Nurlan Sultanov because of a portrait of the late politician Alexei Navalny, reports 164.ru.

According to law enforcement, on 16 February, the anniversary of the politician’s death, Sultanov came to lay flowers at the Vavilov monument and placed a black-and-white photograph of Navalny there. When police officers demanded the image be removed, the photographer agreed and took it away.

164.ru writes that Sultanov was detained on 14 March. After this, he spent almost two days in the police department.

The Frunzensky District Court of Saratov is currently considering his case. At the hearing, the photographer stated that the image of Navalny is not included on the list of extremist materials. Sultanov also recounted that after his arrest, law enforcement restricted his right to use his mobile phone and subjected him to moral and physical pressure.

Community police officer Evgeniya Zakharova, who drew up the protocol, told the court that she considered Navalny’s portrait to be a banned symbol because the organisations he led had been declared extremist.

Zakharova also told the court the circumstances of Sultanov’s detention. First, he was invited to the police station by phone, to which he declined. After that, a model (as the publication clarifies, a civilian) arranged a photoshoot with the photographer and paid a deposit. Instead of her, police officers turned up at the photographer’s studio and detained him.

18:00 Nurlan Sultanov was sentenced to five days of administrative arrest, reports portal 164.ru.

Judge Ekaterina Murzina of the Frunzensky District Court of Saratov found the activist guilty of distributing extremist symbolism. The court also ordered the confiscation of Sultanov’s “item of offence.” Taking into account the two days already spent in detention after his arrest, the photographer now has three more days to serve under arrest.

At the hearing, the activist’s defender, lawyer Kirill Rumyantsev, pointed out that Navalny’s photo “is not listed in” Moscow City Court decisions on symbols found to be extremist. He also noted that at the Borisovskoye Cemetery in Moscow, where the politician is buried, “there’s also his photo, but no one has recognised this as extremist activity.”

17 March Details emerged about Sultanov’s detention. Reports Novaya Gazeta.

Police lured the photographer to a meeting with the help of a decoy model. She paid a deposit for a photoshoot. Sultanov was detained when he arrived at the studio for the shoot.

During the detention, police hit him in the solar plexus and on the back of the head, and spoke to him roughly to force a confession and the statements they wanted. Officers promised that after he confessed, Sultanov would “get away with just a fine.”

Sultanov did not plead guilty. Before the trial, he was held for two days in the Ministry of Internal Affairs police station. During that time, he was fed only once.

Andrei Trofimov, an anti-war activist from Tver Oblast, who was sentenced to ten years in a penal colony, has been fined 2,000 roubles (about US$22) over a drawing of the Freedom of Russia Legion chevron, reports Mediazona, citing his letter.

The Moskovsky District Court in Tver issued this ruling on 11 March. Trofimov was found guilty of displaying banned symbols (part 1, article 20.3 of the Administrative Offences Code).

“I’m honestly proud of myself. I’m not just good at drawing emojis. In court today, [11 March], I acknowledged the factual circumstances of the case, but of course did not admit guilt, and I explained in detail to the judge and prosecutor (two young women) who is actually right in the war with Ukraine, and why Russia’s military propaganda pushes the topic of fascism so much,” Trofimov wrote.

Mediazona does not specify where the security forces found this drawing.

In autumn 2023, Trofimov was sentenced to ten years in a high-security penal colony, charged with spreading military “fakes” (part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code), incitement to extremism (part 2, article 280), and attempting to join an illegal armed group (part 2, article 208, with reference to part 1, article 30). The case was triggered by his anti-war posts and application to join the Freedom of Russia Legion.

Blogger Yuri Ozarovsky has been fined 30,000 rubles (approximately US$340) for swearing in videos where he talked about the removal of clean sand from the beaches of Anapa, a resort city on the Black Sea. Ozarovsky shared this on his YouTube channel.

The Anapa City Court found him guilty under the article on petty hooliganism on the internet (part 3 of article 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences). “I don’t plan to swear anymore, I can’t afford it,” Ozarovsky commented.

Earlier, an officer from the Centre for Combating Extremism (“E” Centre) spoke with him about a video in which activists tried to stop machinery from removing clean sand.

After two tankers carrying oil products sank in the Black Sea on 15 December 2024, thousands of rescuers and volunteers worked to clean up oil residue from the beaches. Since February, Ozarovsky has been calling attention on social media to cases where clean sand is being removed from beaches without being sifted for oil clumps.

The editor-in-chief of “Vechernie Vedomosti,” Vladislav Postnikov, who was due to be released from the detention centre today after serving 14 days under arrest, has been issued a new protocol for displaying prohibited symbols (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences), reports RusNews.

The journalist was taken to the Leninsky District Court in Nizhny Tagil, a city in the Urals. The case is already being considered by a judge.

The new protocol was triggered by two posts on a Telegram channel. The outlet It’s My City reported that the posts in question concerned an action by “Another Russia” activists held in September 2021, and an event organised by Alexei Navalny’s Yekaterinburg headquarters in October 2020. The first post featured a logo of the banned NBP (a predecessor of “Another Russia”), while the second showed a photo of a person wearing a badge from Navalny’s headquarters on their lapel.

The previous protocol for prohibited symbols, which resulted in Postnikov’s arrest and 14-day sentence, was drawn up over a four-year-old post which also included a logo associated with Navalny’s headquarters.

17:47 The Leninsky District Court of Nizhny Tagil has sentenced the editor-in-chief of “Vechernie Vedomosti,” Vladislav Postnikov, to 14 days’ arrest. His lawyer Roman Kachanov reported this to OVD-Info.

“I am accused of a deliberate act, of publicly displaying extremist symbols. The circumstances regarding my current prosecution should be taken into account by the court, because, excuse me, this is a ‘set-up.’ I’ve been detained, denied access to administer the Telegram channels, and meanwhile they are searching for posts which I have no possibility of deleting,” said Vladislav Postnikov to the publication “Govorit NeMoskva.”

17 March Vladislav Postnikov suspects that the trigger for his arrest was his planned lecture at the “Evening of Ural Identity” event scheduled for 28 February. This was reported by “Vechernie Vedomosti.”

Postnikov added that the link between the arrest and his speaking engagement was confirmed by Ombudsperson Tatyana Merzlyakova in a conversation with his relatives. However, the journalist noted that the lecture could not be the sole reason, as this is a case of “carousel arrest,” and the lecture was disrupted only after the first detention.

Vladislav Postnikov explained that he considers local identity important, but does not support the separation of the Ural Republic from Russia. “And not because the law forbids it, but because these are my beliefs, formed many years ago,” the journalist explains.

Courts in Kirov region have banned 33 sticker packs on Telegram due to the presence of stickers featuring extremist symbols, calculated by “Verstka” based on published rulings.

The bans were made following lawsuits filed by the prosecutor’s office. Since late 2023, courts have granted 13 such lawsuits.

Most of the stickers play on Nazi themes, in particular, including memes featuring Hitler and the swastika. Other images feature the coat of arms and flag of Ukraine, as well as rainbow symbols.

The Lomonosovsky District Court in Leningrad Region has fined St Petersburg priest Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko 15,000 rubles (about US$160). He reported this on his Telegram channel on 10 March.

The priest said that in November 2024, the main office of the Ministry of Justice for St Petersburg and Leningrad Region sent him a warning. Mikhnov-Vaitenko did not receive it.

The document stated that he had reposted material from the publication Bumaga, which had been designated as a “foreign agent,” without specifying this status. The priest was given one and a half months to correct the violation.

As a result, an administrative offence report was drawn up against him. Mikhnov-Vaitenko was accused of failing to comply with an order to rectify breaches of “foreign agent” legislation (part 42, article 19.5 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

“I have to say, if I had received the warning in time, I would have easily written that they were foreign agents, or deleted the post. But I didn’t receive it. Nor did I receive an invitation to the administrative hearing, which didn’t stop the Ministry of Justice from proceeding and sending the case to court, which, ‘taking into account the personal characteristics of the person involved,’ imposed a fine. <…> I will appeal this decision anyway!” the priest wrote.

Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko was also added to the “foreign agent” register in July 2024. The Ministry of Justice claimed that the priest had spoken out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and disseminated unreliable information about the actions of the Russian authorities.