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04.09.2026
Journalist Andrey Kalitin has been fined 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) under the article on misuse of media freedom (Article 13.15 of the Code of Administrative Offences) because of a post about losses and captured soldiers in the Russian Armed Forces. The authorities claimed that he published false information and did not request clarification from the Ministry of Defence.
Community activist and former deputy Artyom Ananyev spoke about spending six months in a pre-trial detention centre in connection with the shooting incident at Blue Lake near Ufa. He said that the conditions there are extremely harsh: people are often deprived of walks, clean water and the ability to maintain their health. Ananyev was acquitted after spending half a year in isolation, but the verdict was overturned and he is now being retried.
On 27 August, a court in the occupied Chaplynka district of Kherson region sentenced 23-year-old Tatyana Shevchenko (Yatsyuk) to 5.5 years in a penal colony under charges of spreading “military fakes.” According to investigators, she posted comments in a Telegram channel chat about the involvement of Russian military personnel in the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station.
03.09.2026
Igor Nagavkin, who is serving a two-year sentence in the Kamyshin colony in Volgograd region, has once again been placed in a punishment cell from 21 August, for approximately two weeks. Nagavkin’s sister has reported a deterioration in his health, while lawyer Sergey Ivashchenko links his placement in solitary confinement to his human rights activism.
On 16 April, the Murmansk Regional Court sentenced a resident of Gadzhievo to 12 years in a high-security penal colony on charges of high treason. According to the prosecution, in 2022, the man posted calls on social media for cyberattacks on Russian infrastructure, along with instructions on how to carry them out. Investigators considered this as aiding Ukraine.
The 2nd Western District Military Court has sentenced 56-year-old Viktoria Potitskaya to eight years in a general regime penal colony and a fine of 300,000 roubles (approximately US$3,250) in a case concerning the financing of a terrorist organisation. According to investigators, no earlier than December 2024, she transferred 7,000 roubles (about US$75) to her sister in Ukraine, and the money was allegedly intended for the Ukrainian Azov unit.
The electoral commission of the Orekhovo-Borisovo district No. 202 has not annulled the registration of Sergey Parkhomenko, the Yabloko candidate for the State Duma. The party’s press service reported the decision.
In Donetsk, a court found a member of the Evangelical Christian-Baptists religious group guilty of violating the law on freedom of conscience and imposed a fine of 10,000 roubles (approx. US$110). On 27 July, the Supreme Court of the 'DPR' reduced the fine to 5,000 roubles (approx. US$55).
The Supreme Court has refused to submit the supervisory appeal of the Yabloko party regarding the removal of its federal list from the State Duma elections to the Presidium of the court for consideration. The party’s lawyers are preparing an appeal to the Constitutional Court.
The Volzhsky City Court has fined Alexei Sevastyanov 10,000 roubles (US$110), finding him guilty of participating in an unauthorised protest while recording a video appeal about the petrol situation. According to the case materials, Sevastyanov denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was simply passing by, but the court did not believe his testimony.
The court refused to arrest Lida Moniava, head of the Lighthouse Home Foundation, and imposed a restriction order on her. People applauded outside the courthouse.
On 31 August, the Supreme Court of Tatarstan cancelled the registration of Yabloko party candidate Ayrat Gumerbayev for elections in Naberezhnye Chelny Constituency No. 34 because he owns foreign shares. The party stated that they had notified the election commission that selling the shares was impossible due to sanctions, but the court sided with the local election commission.
Sergey Lavrov announced the closure of the Goethe-Institut branches in Moscow, St Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg, following Germany’s decision to shut down the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin. The German Foreign Minister expressed regret over this step, noting the institute’s important role as a cultural bridge.
The Cherkessk City Court fined a 23-year-old resident of the Prikubansky District under the article on displaying prohibited symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they published an image of symbols that have been recognised as extremist in open access.
Azat Miftakhov has had his stay in a cell-type facility extended, according to the outlet RusNews. The duration of the extension has not been specified.
The protocol regarding the violation of the ban on disseminating information about UAVs against the outlet Zebra-TV has been sent back to Gostekhnadzor due to procedural errors during its preparation. It was drawn up following a complaint by Ekaterina Gutsalenko, head of the mass communications department in the governor’s administration, about a report on a drone strike on a high-rise residential building in Vladimir, a city east of Moscow.
Ekaterina Arkhipova, the Head of the Department of History and International Relations at Volgograd State University, demanded that students vote in the State Duma elections on 18 September and submit the numbers of their polling stations. According to Groza, students who do not live at their registered address were instructed to arrange for an attachment in advance, and group leaders were told to compile lists of polling stations.
The Pskov branch of the Yabloko party has filed an appeal against a court decision that cancelled the registration of its party list for the regional assembly elections, due to the absence of a stamp on a power of attorney. The party argues that the violation was minor and had long since been rectified, and that the election commission did not notify them about the issue.
In the Chelyabinsk region, a court has sentenced a 46-year-old resident of Kasli to 10 years in prison on charges of financing extremist activity and facilitating terrorist activity. According to investigators, from June 2021 to June 2022, they regularly transferred money to an organisation designated as terrorist.
The Lyubertsy City Court has rejected the complaint from Azat Miftakhov’s wife and defender, Elena Gorban, regarding the refusal to allow her a visit, despite an earlier decision recognising such a refusal as unlawful. The defence insists on a prosecutorial review, arguing that Elena is being denied access to Miftakhov in order to conceal evidence of torture.