News

Sergey Sosov, who was convicted in the case involving a collage with Hitler, has been fined two thousand roubles (approximately US$22) for displaying LGBTQ symbols. This was reported by the law enforcement-linked Telegram channel “Tula. EkstremiZm”; the case details can be found on the court’s website.

Sosov was found guilty under the article on the display of prohibited symbols (Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Administrative Offences Code). The case was heard by the Plavsky Interdistrict Court in Tula region, south of Moscow, on 20 December.

The reason for the fine was certain images posted on VKontakte.

In December 2023, Sosov was sentenced to three years of compulsory labour, having been found guilty of insulting the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland online. Then, in December 2024, the man was detained for evading his punishment in the form of compulsory labour, as he had failed to arrive at the correctional centre. According to the “Tula. EkstremiZm” publication, after this, the remainder of Sergey Sosov’s sentence was converted to imprisonment. He is now being held in Penal Colony No. 5 in Tula region.

The Petrogradsky District Court in St Petersburg has fined local resident Georgiy Mirishkin 40,000 roubles (approximately US$440) for laying flowers at the Taras Shevchenko monument. This was reported by the city’s court press service.

The man was found guilty under the article on “discrediting” the Russian army (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). The reason for the protocol was that on 24 February, he brought flowers tied with blue and yellow ribbons to the monument to the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko.

The court stated that by doing so, Mirishkin “committed public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the DPR and LPR.” According to OVD-Info, the young man was detained the same day and taken to one of the police stations.

In Moscow, the door of the apartment belonging to the lead singer of the band Bi-2, Yegor Bortnik (Leva Bi-2), was set on fire, reports Baza, which drew attention to a video posted in a private Telegram channel. SHOT writes that the arson was carried out by activists from the “Auction of Fingers” movement.

On the wall next to the apartment, someone wrote: “Greetings to the enemy and traitor Leva from the Pianist.”

The video of the arson was published with the comment that it was a “gift for 23 February.” It also claimed that Bortnik, “who earned his entire living in Russia, but when the war started, fled and began financing the Ukrainian Armed Forces, put his entire band’s business at risk.”

Recently, pro-Kremlin pranksters Lexus and Vovan published a recording of a conversation with Bortnik, in which he allegedly said he transferred money to the Ukrainian army. After this, according to Baza, a major news Telegram channel posted a video with the full address of his apartment. It may refer to a post by Mash, which showed the building’s address and entrance.

At the same time, Shot reports that the Moscow apartment is currently registered in the name of the musician’s former wife.

There has not yet been any official confirmation of the arson of the apartment door belonging to Bortnik or formerly belonging to him. He himself has also not commented yet on the reports of the arson.

The musician has openly spoken out against the war in Ukraine and does not currently live in Russia.

Khalikov was detained on 23 February. The court was supposed to consider his case yesterday, 25 February, but the hearing was postponed in order to summon the police officer who detained Khalikov and threw the flowers off the monument.

The Kirovsky District Court in Ufa fined the publisher of the media outlet “Prufy,” Raufa Rakhimova, 30,000 roubles (about US$330) for “disrespect towards authorities” (part 3 of Article 20.1 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences). The media outlet’s Telegram channel reported this.

The reason was a video from 2020 in which Rakhimova, an elderly woman, defended activists protecting the Kushtau hill (a small mountain in Ishimbaysky District, Bashkortostan, where local activists opposed deforestation for soda and limestone mining for several months, until September 2020, when the Bashkortostan government declared Kushtau a regional natural monument, which stopped the work) and criticised former adviser to the head of Bashkortostan, Rostislav Murzagulov. An administrative charge was filed against the media manager in December 2024.

According to the defence, the proceedings should already have been terminated due to the expiry of the statute of limitations. They also noted that Rakhimova had not posted the video in question.

Murzagulov, whom Rakhimova criticised, left Russia after the start of the war. On his YouTube channel “Rostislav Murzagulov,” formerly linked with Mikhail Khodorkovsky and previously called “Open Media,” he posts political videos. In December 2022, Murzagulov was added to the “foreign agents” register after he requested it himself, and in September 2024, he was declared wanted. He faces criminal cases for failing to fulfil the obligations of a “foreign agent” (Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code) and for spreading “military fakes” motivated by political hatred (paragraph “d” of part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code).

Galina Savvateyeva, a Moscow resident, was detained for laying flowers at the Lesya Ukrainka monument. She is being taken to the Dorogomilovo police station. This was reported by SOTAvision.

The woman was wearing a T-shirt with the inscription: “24.02.2022 February lasting for years.” After she laid the flowers, police officers caught up with Savvateyeva, asked her for identification and photographed her T-shirt. After a while, she was put in a police van and taken to the station.

21:30 An OVD-Info lawyer, Natalia Tikhonova, is on her way to assist Savvateyeva.

21:36 Savvateyeva has been delivered to Dorogomilovo police station.

22:30 Savvateyeva has been released from the police station with a formal warning, according to her lawyer from OVD-Info, Natalia Tikhonova.

In Novosibirsk, a major city in Siberia, a protocol was filed against human rights defender Anna Tazheyeva for participating in the activities of an ‘undesirable’ organisation (Article 20.33 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by Mediazona, citing a decision from the prosecutor’s office dated 12 February.

The document states that five people contacted the agency in February, accusing Anna Tazheyeva of “distributing the information resource of an organisation declared undesirable.” According to officials, in December 2024, the activist published a post on VKontakte featuring a video from the YouTube channel “Free Nations League.” The organisation was declared ‘undesirable’ in February 2023.

The video attributed to Tazheyeva tells the story of an interethnic conflict between residents of the settlement of Svetly and a family from Kyrgyzstan. Natalia Shishkina, a member of the Prokudsky Village Council in Kochenyovsky District, stood up for the latter. As Shishkina herself reported, she began to face harassment from members of the “Russian Community” movement after this. The same was reported in the Free Nations League’s video.

The protocol against Anna Tazheyeva was filed with the Kalininsky District Court on 13 February. A Mediazona source familiar with the activist’s case suggested that the people who reported her to the prosecutor are linked to the “Russian Community.”

At the end of January, the movement reported that a protocol for involvement with an ‘undesirable’ organisation was also drawn up against Natalia Shishkina herself.

“And her close friend Tazheyeva <…> continues to repost content from foreign agent resources on her own channel, including some that slander the Russian Community. The Russian Community is systematically and successfully achieving results in holding Shishkina and the ‘human rights defender’ Tazheyeva accountable,” read the post.

On 30 January, Shishkina was fined five thousand roubles (US$55) for involvement with an ‘undesirable’ organisation under the protocol. The grounds for the case were the same Free Nations League video. Posts with the video have now been deleted from both Tazheyeva’s page and Shishkina’s Telegram channel.

A protocol has been drawn up against comedian Denis Chuzhoy for not reporting himself as a “foreign agent” (part 1, article 19.34 of the Administrative Code). The case record has been published on the website of the Zheleznogorsk City Court in Kursk region (a city in western Russia).

The hearing in the comedian’s case is scheduled for 19 February.

Denis Chuzhoy (Denis Alesin) was declared a “foreign agent” in November 2024. According to the Ministry of Justice, Chuzhoy participated in the creation and distribution of materials by other “foreign agents” as well as “undesirable organisations,” spoke out against the war, and spread false information about Russian State bodies and their decisions.

The Meshchansky District Court in Moscow has fined the agency UniPage, which assists with admission to international educational institutions, 50,000 rubles (about US$550) under a protocol for participation in the activities of an “undesirable organisation” (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences). Mediazona reports this.

The case was brought to court on 18 December. The reason for drawing up the protocol was the appearance of US Bard College and Central European University—both designated “undesirable” in Russia—in the agency’s university database on its website.

The UniPage platform has existed since 2012. According to information on the agency’s website, over 4,000 clients have been admitted to international universities. Mediazona notes that UniPage also offers help obtaining grants from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the American Fulbright Programme and grants from other countries.

In Russia, a number of foreign organisations involved in educational programmes have been designated “undesirable.” For example, in March, US organisations Cultural Perspectives, Institute of International Education and American Councils for International Education were declared “undesirable.”

The Tagansky District Court in Moscow fined the VPN provider Hidemy.nerwork LTD 400,000 roubles (approx. US$4,400) under the article on producing and distributing “foreign agent” materials without the required labelling (Part 4, Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code), reports the court’s press service.

The provider, registered in Belize, was added to the “foreign agent” registry in November 2023.

The Chistopol City Court in Tatarstan has fined local resident Maria Elendeeva 1,000 roubles (approx. US$11) under the article on the display of Nazi symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by the SOVA Research Centre.

A report was drawn up against the woman because of two images posted on VKontakte. The first depicted Vladimir Putin standing at a podium with the Third Reich’s coat of arms and swastika, accompanied by the text: “Russians are guilty before humanity for failing to resist Putin, just as the German people were guilty for failing to resist Hitler.” The second image featured the text: “Our strength and power are in truth, conscience, and light. The sun is only on our side! Remember this, Rusich!” alongside an image of a kolovrat, which the court identified as a swastika.

The Dzerzhinsky District Court in St Petersburg has sentenced a local resident to 10 days’ administrative arrest after they were detained at the monument to victims of political repression on the anniversary of Alexei Navalny’s death. This was reported by the newspaper Bumaga.

The individual was found guilty under the article on displaying prohibited symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). They were detained on 16 February when they came to the monument with flowers and a picture of Navalny.

In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a major city on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East, a concert by the metal band Autopsy Night was cancelled following a complaint by activists from the ‘Russian Community,’ reports ‘7×7.’

“Today’s Autopsy Night concert has been cancelled due to heavy pressure from certain authorities on the concert venue, as well as information we have received that a group of individuals were preparing provocations against our band and the guests of today’s event,” the band posted on VKontakte.

The ‘Russian Community’ claimed they “achieved a ban on the concert of the satanic thrash band” after collecting 300 signatures “with a request to check the ‘work’ of these clearly unhealthy ‘musicians.’”

On 6 February, the Novgorod District Court in Novgorod Region fined local resident Elena Oloer 10,000 roubles (approx. US$110) under the administrative article on incitement of hatred or enmity (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The Research Centre “Sova” drew attention to the court’s decision in their report.

The specific statements that led to the administrative case against the woman are unknown. The court ruling says that, in comments under a post on VKontakte, Oloer joined a discussion about Ukrainians and Russians.

For example, in the screenshot described by the court, there is “a statement that it’s not Ukrainians who are drug addicts, but Russians who rape children and are drug addicts,” and that “the author is ashamed to be Russian.”

At the same time, the court noted that the prosecutor’s office incorrectly assessed Oloer’s statements, alleging she incited hatred towards a group of people based on their political interests and profession—“supporters of Russia,” “Russian military personnel.”

“Political interests and people engaged in specific professions may be considered as belonging to social groups; however, these circumstances were not mentioned when describing the administrative offence,” the judge stated.

The same court fined Andrei Timonin 20,000 roubles (US$220) under a similar article. Timonin, Khamidullin and Azat Shaekhov were detained on 16 February while laying flowers in memory of Alexei Navalny. Shaekhov was arrested for 10 days on 18 February.

Ramirez was detained on 16 February after she held a solo picket with a portrait of Navalny and a sign reading: “We will not forget, we will not forgive. Lesha, we miss you.” While already in the police van, she began to have difficulties breathing, telling OVD-Info she was close to losing consciousness. An ambulance was called for her.

After the arrest, she was taken to police station No. 28, where an administrative offence report was drawn up against her. Ramirez was kept at the station overnight ahead of the court hearing. The following day, she was taken to court, but the administrative case was returned to the police due to violations. Because of this, Ramirez was taken back to the police station for another night.

On 18 February, after the court hearing, Kristina Johnson Ramirez told OVD-Info that she was feeling unwell because she had not been given food or water at the police station. In addition, female officers at the station forced Ramirez to strip down to her underwear. According to Ramirez, they tried to make her undress completely and squat several times, threatening that otherwise men would carry out the search.

The decision to fine Marshenkulova was issued by the Tagansky District Court of Moscow. The court’s website record does not mention which materials led to the administrative case.

The Justice Ministry designated Marshenkulova a ‘foreign agent’ in September 2024. Six months earlier, a criminal case for “justifying terrorism” (Part 2, Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) was opened against her over a publication about the killing of pro-government military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. In connection with this case, law enforcement officers searched Marshenkulova’s home.

In mid-April 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs put the feminist activist on the federal wanted list. A month later, the court ordered her arrest in absentia.

Former Russian Orthodox Church proto-deacon Andrey Kurayev has been fined 45,000 rubles (approximately US$500) for a post without the “foreign agent” label (part 4, article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences) on his fake social media page. The press service of the Moscow courts of general jurisdiction reported this today.

According to Moscow’s Tagansky district court, on 19 August 2024 the clergy member published material without the “foreign agent” notice on a VKontakte page. Kurayev’s lawyer tried to prove that their client does not have access to this account. At the request of the former proto-deacon, the page was blocked by VKontakte moderators, notes SOTA.

The defence asked the court to postpone hearings in the case and send a repeat inquiry to the Ministry of Justice regarding who owns the blocked account. The court refused this request and found Kurayev guilty of violating the “foreign agent” law.

In 2020, the theologian and former proto-deacon Andrey Kurayev was prohibited from serving in the Church over insulting the late priest Alexander Ageykin, who had died from Covid, in his personal blog. In April 2023, Kurayev was stripped of his clerical rank, and at the end of the same year was declared a “foreign agent.”

After the hearing, Shayekhov said the judge had rejected all his petitions, including the motion to have the judge recused. He intends to appeal the arrest. He also reported that he has been charged with “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) over a post on VKontakte, in which he allegedly “spoke unfavourably about the so-called heroes of the special military operation.” A local politician, Dmitry Rumyantsev, posted a video of Shayekhov’s comments after the hearing.

Earlier, the man said he was detained while filming the detentions of others who had come to pay tribute to Navalny.

14:49 The same court fined Shayekhov 45,000 roubles (approx. US$500) for “discrediting the army,” his lawyer told OVD-Info.

A teacher at a gymnasium in St Petersburg has been fined 30,000 rubles (US$325) for laying a paper heart on the day Alexei Navalny was killed. This was reported by Fontanka.

The woman brought the heart to the monument to Taras Shevchenko. She was detained afterwards. As clarified by MR7, she was fined under the article on “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces” (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code).

On 16 February, officers also detained a 75-year-old elderly woman at the Solovetsky Stone memorial. News sources differ on the reason for her detention: MR7 claims the woman tried to leave a portrait photograph at the memorial, while Fontanka reports that she joined a solo protest with a placard. It was not reported whose photo the woman intended to display.

A report was filed against the elderly woman for displaying “extremist” symbols (Article 20.3) and violating the rules for holding a solo protest (Article 20.2). The court sentenced her to a day of administrative arrest but immediately released her, as she had already spent this time in a detention centre prior to the hearing.

19 February The report for displaying prohibited symbols was indeed drawn up because of a placard bearing a photograph of Alexei Navalny and his quote: “I am not afraid, and neither should you be.” This was reported by 78.ru and noted by the Sova research centre.

An elderly woman from Pechora, a town in the Komi Republic, was fined 55,000 roubles (around US$600) for comments against the war, in which she called for people to “go out into the streets” and “organise protests.” OVD-Info discovered the ruling, issued by Pechora City Court on 12 February, here.

The court found the woman guilty of “discrediting the Russian army with calls for mass actions” (part 2, article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). According to the court, from April 2022 to 14 January this year she posted comments under the nickname “KNV” in VKontakte groups “Pro gorod Syktyvkar/News,” “Saint Petersburg Life” and “Typical Pechora.” In these comments, she expressed opposition to the war and called for protests “demanding the resignation of the leadership of the Russian Federation,” and for “organising rallies with the demand to withdraw Russian troops from Ukraine.”

In court, the woman admitted her guilt and expressed remorse, asking not to be given a harsh punishment due to her small pension. She also explained that she had deleted the comments.

The court fined the woman, stating that in her comments the elderly activist “justified the legitimacy of actions by the authorities of Ukraine” and “spoke negatively about the president of the Russian Federation.”

The Tagansky District Court in Moscow has fined the online writers’ platform Wattpad 3.5 million roubles (approximately US$39,000) for failing to remove prohibited information (Part 2, Article 13.41 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by the press service of Moscow courts and noted by Mediazona.

The protocol was prompted by the publication of “works about same-sex sexual relationships,” according to a report from the outlet ‘Govorit i Pokazyvaet Moskva’ (Moscow Speaks and Shows).

Representatives of Wattpad accepted responsibility. They added that service moderators remove content “prohibited by Russian law,” but cannot always do so promptly because “the platform operates globally and has more than 90 million users.”

Wattpad is an online service where anyone can publish their book.

After asking about joining the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a 31-year-old technician from Moscow, Alexander Sh., was charged with inciting hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Offences Code). This was reported by the channel “Ostorozhno, novosti” (“Caution, news”).

In August 2023, Alexander, who lives in Moscow, sent messages to the chat of the Ukrainian state project “I Want to Live,” which helps military personnel from Russia and Belarus safely surrender. Alexander Sh. asked whether it was possible to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces without combat experience, as he was “tired of living and suffering” in Russia, and also asked to be put in touch with a “great training club to destroy the Russkies.” He was sent some links. However, according to “Ostorozhno, novosti,” he did not actually leave Moscow.

A year and a half later, officers from Centre “E” arrested him and drew up an administrative offence report. In court, the Moscow resident admitted guilt.

The Leninsky District Court of Ulyanovsk has fined local human rights defender Igor Toporkov one thousand roubles (approximately US$11) for displaying prohibited symbols (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by “7×7—Horizontal Russia.”

Toporkov was detained yesterday, 16 February, while laying flowers at the monument to victims of political repression in Ulyanovsk, a city on the Volga River in central Russia. A report was filed against him because of a portrait of Alexei Navalny, and he was kept overnight at the police station until his court hearing.

An Ulyanovsk magistrate’s court in the Lenin District has fined the owner of the local “Pod’e! bar,” Vadim Kudyushev, 150,000 roubles (approx. US$1,650) under the article on LGBT “propaganda” (Article 6.21 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by “7×7—Horizontal Russia.”

The charge was brought in January for “popularising and imposing” information about LGBT people through various interior design elements. Law enforcement pointed out in their report various colours used in the bar’s design which they claimed were “commonly recognised, hidden symbols of the LGBT community,” including white, black and pink.

Additionally, police cited the use of images of male genitals, as well as sweets shaped like buttocks and female genitals in the venue’s décor. According to law enforcement, the colours of the sweets referenced the rainbow flag.

The bar opened in the city in late December last year. The next day, Vasily Gvozdev, a regional legislative deputy, took notice of it. In a VKontakte post, he called the bar’s operation “sodomy” and requested that Rospotrebnadzor, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the Ministry of Economic Development, and the Human Rights Commissioner conduct an inspection.

After the charge was filed, the bar began collecting humanitarian aid for children from the occupied part of Kherson region in Ukraine. On the eve of the court hearing, a post appeared on “Pod’e! bar’s” social media featuring an appeal from participants in the Russian invasion of Ukraine in support of the bar.

The Volzhsky City Court has sentenced Alexander Yefimov, a member of the federal bureau of the Yabloko party, to 14 days in detention. This was reported on the local Memorial Telegram channel.

Yefimov was detained on 16 February because he brought a portrait of Navalny and flowers to the monument to victims of political repression.

He was found guilty under the article on displaying prohibited symbols (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). He spent the night in the police station.

In a nightclub in Krasnodar, a major city in southern Russia, a raid was carried out on the night of 15 February. Law enforcement officers detained two women. This was reported by the regional police press office.

At the time of the raid, there were around 200 people in the venue.

According to the police press office, the two detainees are “supporters of an organisation banned and declared extremist on the territory of the Russian Federation”—most likely referring to the LGBTQ community.

Protocols were drawn up against the women under the article on “LGBTQ propaganda” (Part 1, Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences). Law enforcement officers also issued warnings to twelve other clubgoers about the inadmissibility of breaking the law.

Earlier, it was reported that former city council deputy Ilya Kravchenko and Maksim Tulin had also been detained in Volgograd. Kravchenko was held in the station overnight pending trial, while Tulin was released without a report being filed.

Svetlana Kolobova, a resident of Nizhny Novgorod, was detained while laying flowers at the monument by Bugrovskoye Cemetery, the site of a mass grave for victims of political repression. This was reported by RusNews, citing a friend of the detainee.

Local politician Dmitry Rumyantsev said on his Telegram channel that one of those detained is named Andrey Timonin.

The detainees were taken to the “Yapeeva” police station.

In Volzhsky, Alexander Yefimov, a member of the federal bureau of the Yabloko party, has been detained, according to the Volgograd “Memorial” Telegram channel.

A protocol was drawn up against Yefimov for displaying banned symbols (Article 20.3 of the Administrative Offences Code). The Volzhsky City Court is set to review the protocol tomorrow, 17 February, at 9:00 am. Until then, Yefimov will remain at the police station.

“Novaya Gazeta Europe,” quoting people close to the politician, reports that the reason for the administrative case was a portrait of Alexei Navalny, which Yefimov brought along with flowers to the memorial. According to the publication, law enforcement officers deemed Navalny’s image to be a “display of extremist symbols.”

In Volgograd, a major city on the Volga River, former city council deputy Ilya Kravchenko and Maksim Tulin were detained for laying flowers at a memorial to victims of political repression, reports the Telegram channel ‘Dozor in Volgograd | No to War! .’

According to their information, the detainees were taken to the police station in the Central District.

21:35 Tulin was released from the police station without a report, while Kravchenko is being kept at the station overnight, OVD-Info was told by the detainees’ friend Sergei.

According to Sergei, the former deputy is being charged with disobeying the police (Article 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) and violating the rules for holding public events (Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences). His phone was confiscated. The administrative court hearing for Kravchenko is expected to take place tomorrow morning, 17 February.

17 February Ilya Kravchenko was sentenced to 14 days of arrest after laying flowers at the memorial to victims of political repression. This was reported by the ‘Alternative Volgograd’ channel and noted by RusNews.

According to information from the ‘Dozor in Volgograd’ channel, the arrest was imposed under the report of disobeying police. It is not reported whether there was a court hearing under the article concerning violation of the rules for public events.

A resident of Voronezh was detained while staging a solo picket with a placard reading: “Don’t be afraid. This is our country, and we don’t have another one,” by the monument to Osip Mandelstam. This was reported by RusNews.

17:40 Security officers also detained the young woman’s companion as he was laying flowers. The detainees’ names are Yevgeniya and Alexander. This was reported by “Not Politics | Voronezh.”

18:45 The detainees were taken to a police station on Tchaikovsky Street. The police demanded that Alexander unlock his phone and beat him when he refused. The young man eventually agreed, but when the phone locked itself after several incorrect password attempts, the security officers threatened to burn his passport.

“I entered the unlock codes incorrectly several times and my phone was locked for a long time, after which the officers began making inappropriate threats—they threatened to burn my passport, saying: ‘Why do you need it anyway? ’ In the end, the police threatened a bit more and then released us without drawing up any charges,” the detainee told the “Not Politics | Voronezh” channel.

The detainees were eventually released from the police station without any charges being filed.

In Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Urals, a woman was detained for laying flowers at the Decembrists’ monument. She herself told RusNews about this.

“They took me alone, personally, from what I heard while we were driving. About two others were detained before me,” the detainee clarified.

She was brought to police station No. 5. There, the police took her statement and then released her.

In St Petersburg, police detained a man at the memorial to victims of political repression on the Voskresenskaya Embankment as he attempted to attach a piece of paper with a quotation about the triumph of evil to the monument, reports “Bumaga.”

The paper read: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.” This is a quotation by the English publicist and parliamentarian Edmund Burke, which Navalny repeatedly cited in his speeches and interviews. Notably, he recalled it at the end of his interview for the documentary film “Navalny,” released in 2022.

The St Petersburg resident tried to fasten the paper to the memorial, but it fell off. The man himself was then escorted into a police van.

Activist Igor Toporkov from Ulyanovsk, a city on the Volga River in central Russia, reported that he was detained while laying flowers at a monument to the victims of political repression. This was reported by the Telegram channel “Simbirsky Shugozhor.”

19:16 After his detention, Toporkov was charged with displaying prohibited symbols (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences), he told the publication 7×7. He did not specify what prompted the charge.

Tomorrow, 17 February, a court hearing will be held on this administrative case. The activist is being kept in the police station overnight.

In Perm, a major city in the Urals, a picketer was detained at the monument to the heroes of the front for holding a sign reading: “If you are feeling especially in pain today—you are not alone! Alexey’s heart beat for us.” This was reported by the “Perm 36.6” channel.

The name of the detained person was initially unknown.

14:15 The detained person’s name is Alexey Ogloblin. He was taken to police station No. 6. This was reported by lawyer Artem Fayzulin, who works with OVD-Info.

15:26 Alexey Ogloblin is being charged with violating the regulations for picketing (Article 20.2 of the Administrative Offences Code). The activist informed OVD-Info about this.

15:59 The activist was released from the station without a report being filed. He informed OVD-Info about this.

According to lawyer Artem Fayzulin, the young man also had his sign confiscated. The activist said that after the decision to release him, the police pushed him out of the station: “They almost forced me out by strength.”

Photo: “Perm 36.6”