The Kirovo-Chepetsk District Court has fined prisoner Nikita…

22.09.2025

10:26

A Chechen businessman has been sentenced to 15 days’ detention over a satirical video about migrants, Muscovites and people from the Caucasus, reports Baza.

On 19 September, the Ostankinsky District Court in Moscow found Islam Amerkhanov guilty of inciting hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code).

According to the court’s decision, on 16 September, the Butyrsky Interdistrict Prosecutor’s Office identified a post in the xenophobic Telegram channel ‘Migrants—the unvarnished truth,’ which featured Amerkhanov’s video.

In the recording, he comments that hundreds of taxis in Moscow are idle because, after stricter legislation, many migrants from Central Asia who used to work in the industry have lost their jobs.

“These are all cars that were supposed to be carrying your rich, arrogant...

15.09.2025

13:04

Moscow Oblast

A software developer from the Moscow region who sent an anti-war letter to colleagues when leaving his job has been fined under the article on incitement of hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences), reports Baza.

The publication does not give the man’s real name and refers to him as Yevgeny. On one of his social media pages, the city of Zhukovsky in the Moscow region is listed as his place of residence, OVD-Info found.

Baza writes that until recently, Yevgeny worked as a systems engineer for a company developing infrastructure management software. The company is also known as a Skolkovo resident and is part of the Lanit group of companies.

At the end of June, the man left the company, and before resigning sent an anti-war letter via corporate email, which reached 513 people.

“In the text, Yevgeny stated that he had been fighting the Russian authorities since 2016, does not support the ‘special military operation,’ and ‘is flying off to live in France because he prefers to pay NATO taxes rather than those funding the special operation,’” writes Baza.

The man also wished death upon a colleague who had signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Soon afterwards, the police launched a review because of this letter and sent it for expert analysis. According to the expert conclusion, the letter was found to have elements inciting hatred towards Russians. Yevgeny was fined by the court (the amount was not specified).

As Baza notes, judging by Yevgeny’s social media pages, he subsequently flew to France.

13.09.2025

10:56

Kemerovo Oblast

Svetlana Gorkunova, who identifies as a “citizen of the USSR” and is from Novokuznetsk, was fined 5,000 roubles (approximately US$55) for a post stating: “According to the WHO, every natural person living in Russia is INSANE!” The case file on the website of the Kuznetsky District Court was noted by the SOVA research centre.

The elderly woman was found guilty under the article on inciting hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The grounds were a post published on VKontakte by Gorkunova on 10 September 2023. She had reposted material from the page of Anatoly Alipchenkov, another “citizen of the USSR.”

The text contained many ideas typical of “citizens of the USSR” conspiracy theories: questioning the legitimacy of the Russian Federation, claiming individuals recognised as natural persons lack personhood, calling for people to send “declarations of will” about their Soviet citizenship, and encouraging the restoration of Soviet government structures. The author believes that such actions will lead to an end to the “war on the territory of the USSR.”

A linguist who examined the text for expert analysis in March concluded that the material “can undoubtedly elicit hostility or hatred towards” citizens of the Russian Federation among potential readers of the analysed text, and that it contains signs of degrading their dignity.

This material has already led to two other “citizens of the USSR” being held responsible: in June 2024 it was Lyudmila Gavrilina from Ivanovo, and in August 2025 it was Andrey Patlepe, a resident of Novokuznetsk, a major city in Siberia.

09.09.2025

20:04

Saint Petersburg

The St Petersburg artist Alexei Kiryanov has been declared wanted as someone “evading administrative arrest.” This was reported on his Telegram channel by his lawyer, Dinar Idrisov.

Idrisov wrote that on 9 September, Kiryanov is turning 70: “A much-loved and widely respected artist around the world—now apparently an extremist as well—is likely being sought after not with cake and flowers…” the lawyer added.

Earlier, the Sestroretsk District Court of St Petersburg sentenced Kiryanov to 12 days’ detention due to two posts about Putin on VKontakte. The artist was found guilty under the administrative article on inciting hatred or enmity (Art. 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences). Kiryanov himself was not present at the hearing. When the lawyer asked how an arrest could be handed down...

02.09.2025

18:34

The Sestroretsk District Court of St Petersburg has sentenced local artist Alexey Kiryanov to 12 days’ administrative detention over two posts featuring Putin on VKontakte. RusNews reported this from the courtroom.

The 69-year-old artist was found guilty under the administrative article for inciting hatred or enmity (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code). Kiryanov himself was not present at the hearing. When his defence lawyer Dinar Idrisov asked how detention could be ordered in the defendant’s absence, the judge replied: “We’ll put out a search warrant, and the defence lawyer will be held accountable for hiding him.”

The administrative case was opened in mid-June because of two posts from 2024.

The first post featured a photograph from the February 2012 “For Fair Elections”...

19.08.2025

10:16

Chelyabinsk Oblast

Igor Koptev, a resident of Zlatoust in Chelyabinsk Region (a city in the Urals), was sentenced to 10 days' arrest under the article on inciting hatred or enmity (Art. 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code) over a poster about the police and Putin. This was reported by the Sova research centre.

According to a court ruling on 8 August, it is stated that on 22 June, Koptev attended a memorial event dedicated to the start of the Great Patriotic War. The event took place at the Glory Memorial, attended by around 150 people.

Koptev brought with him a poster which, according to his explanation, “included inscriptions expressing a negative assessment of the security forces and the President of the Russian Federation.”

“He displayed the poster so everyone present could see it. In this way, he wanted to communicate his position regarding the president and members of law enforcement bodies,” the court ruling says.

The local FSB branch took an interest in the poster. Security officers determined that “the poster expressed a negative assessment of a group of people united by professional activity—the police.”

The court considered that holding Igor Koptev accountable under the incitement to hatred article “does not violate [his] right to freedom of expression and freedom of speech,” but rather “violates the rights and freedoms of other individuals.”

11.08.2025

13:57

Yaroslavl Oblast

A 33-year-old resident of Yaroslavl, Viktoria B., has been fined 1,000 roubles (about US$11) for comparing the new uniform standard in Russian schools to Hitler’s military attire. This was reported by “Ostorozhno, Novosti” (“Careful, News”).

In early August, a court found the woman guilty of displaying Nazi symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Offences Code). According to the court, she left a comment in the “Zhest Yaroslavl” (“Hardcore Yaroslavl”) public group. The post stated that from 1 July, a new standard for school uniforms would be introduced across Russia, and recommended placing patriotic symbols on the clothing.

“No clue why, but the second outfit just gave me Hitler vibes,” wrote Viktoria B. under an illustration accompanying the news, attaching a picture of Hitler.

In court, the woman admitted her guilt and expressed remorse, which was recognised as a mitigating factor in the case. She was also ordered to delete her comment under the post.

05.08.2025

16:19

On 30 July, the Chelyabinsk Regional Court overturned the penalty imposed on Victoria Prokopyeva, a philosophy student, in an administrative case concerning incitement of hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Offences Code) over a post containing the word “eshniki” (anti-extremism police officers). Prokopyeva herself told OVD-Info about this.

On appeal, the court decided that the offence had not been proven and terminated the case.

Prokopyeva clarified that the first-instance court had based its decision on the findings of an expert report, which alleged incitement of hatred on professional grounds because of the phrase: “eshniki are the bottom of the police system.” However, the appeal court judge ruled that a professional group is not equivalent to a social group. The article Prokopyeva was charged under refers only to social groups.

Initially, the Kurchatovsky District Court in Chelyabinsk sentenced Prokopyeva to 40 hours of compulsory community service.

The protocol against the student was prompted by a post about abuse and violence she had experienced in the police station last autumn. She had been detained on suspicion of putting up “extremist leaflets.” It was later established that she had not put up the leaflets, but in fact had torn one of them down.

02.08.2025

18:20

Omsk Oblast

Pavel Plakhin, a resident of Omsk, a major city in southwestern Siberia, has been sentenced to 40 hours of compulsory community service for a comment on Telegram deemed to “incite hatred” (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences) towards United Russia. The decision was handed down on 25 July by the Leninsky District Court of Omsk, according to the court, and reported by the outlet “Ostorozhno, Novosti” (source).

According to the court, he posted the following comment on Telegram: “We need to set fire to the Kremlin, the White House, all the places where those f***ing United Russia members are sitting.”

The specialist who conducted the analysis of the comment told the court that the message contained “incitement to destructive actions by carrying out arson attacks on buildings where members of the United Russia party could potentially be located,” as well as “an assertion of the need to carry out such actions.”

The court concluded that Plakhin’s statement was aimed at “humiliating the dignity” of “United Russia.” He admitted guilt.

22.07.2025

16:27

Other,

Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

On 3 July, the Yakutsk City Court fined stand-up comedian Nyurgun Atakov 10,000 roubles (approximately US$110) over a joke about the colonisation of Indigenous peoples by Russia and discrimination against Yakuts in the country. The news was first reported by the “Torboznoe Radio” channel.

The fine was issued under the article on incitement of hatred (Article 20.3.1 of Russia’s Administrative Code) due to Atakov’s performance, an excerpt from which was published a year ago by the “MARDAN” channel.

During the show, the comedian said that in Russia “one nation has decided that they are above all of us [Indigenous peoples]” and “adores Ukrainians and Belarusians, because with them you can shit-talk Russians.”

In November 2024, the Centre for Combating Extremism (Centre “E”) sent materials to the Centre for Strategic Research under the head of Yakutia. Following this, an administrative case was opened against the comedian, with authorities finding signs of incitement to hatred against Russians in his performance.

Nyurgun Atakov did not attend the court hearing. He has been living in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, for three years, where he continues to work in stand-up and runs the YouTube channel “Turkic Phrasebook.” In his shows, this young man regularly talks about the discrimination faced by Indigenous peoples in Russia.

17.07.2025

16:07

Saint Petersburg

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

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

In September of the same year, the European University’s website featured a news item announcing the release of this report (it has since been deleted, but an archived version remains online). The...

11.07.2025

10:49

Irkutsk Oblast

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

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

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

07.07.2025

17:08

Ivanovo Oblast

A protocol was drawn up against activist Vladimir Vozilov from Shuya, a town in central Russia, on 27 June under the article on “discrediting the army” (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by lawyer Oskran Cherdzhiev in a Telegram story.

Vozilov was charged over posts on VKontakte titled “Who fired the shots?” and “Changed objectives of the special military operation,” as well as a comment under a post named “Delayed reaction.” The posts discussed either the war itself or related events taking place in Ivanovo region.

06.07.2025

12:19

Magadan Oblast

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

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

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

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