Comments about police officers and Putin: why people are prosecuted under the article on inciting hatred: Human rights news, court updates & analysis | 30 related articles

11.06.2025

15:54

In Kemerovo region, a resident of Anzhero-Sudzhensk, a city in Siberia, has been fined 10,000 roubles (approx. US$110) over a comment about Russian soldiers. This was reported by the Telegram channel “Kuzbass Without Extremism,” which is linked to law enforcement.

The man was found guilty of inciting hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

“In Sergey’s comments, law enforcement identified statements which negatively assessed a group of people united by their belonging to the servicemembers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” the channel wrote.

They did not quote the statement that led to the charges, but published a screenshot of Sergey’s comment: “Well, it’s only right—Shoigu’s looters are dropping like flies.”

On 7 June, “Kuzbass Without Extremism” reported that the same man had also been fined 15,000 roubles (approx. US$165) under the article on “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

“[Sergey], in one of the social networks, made negative remarks in comments on various posts regarding the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, calling participants in the special military operation ‘fascists,’ ‘fertiliser,’ and ‘cannon fodder,’” the channel wrote.

09.06.2025

16:55

Moscow

In Moscow, Georgiy P. has been arrested for 10 days over a video in which he says: “I fucking respect the police, but we fuck the cops in the mouth.” The channel “Ostorozhno, Moskva” (“Careful, Moscow”) drew attention to this.

According to the channel, the video featuring the Moscow resident was filmed back in early March and spread on Telegram. Law enforcement officers drew up a report against the man for incitement of hatred or enmity (Art. 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

In court, Georgiy P. explained his words by saying he was “very drunk.” In early June, he was sent to a special detention centre.

04.06.2025

15:36

The Vakhitovsky District Court in Kazan has sentenced local resident Ruslan Tavdiryakov to 10 days in detention over a social media post comparing nationalists taking part in a religious procession to participants in the riot at Makhachkala airport. The SOVA Research Centre drew attention to the court’s decision in its report.

Tavdiryakov was found guilty under the administrative offence of inciting hatred or enmity (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code). He admitted his guilt.

According to the court ruling, Tavdiryakov posted a video on his Telegram channel showing a religious procession in honour of the transfer of the relics of Alexander Nevsky, during which the slogan “Russians forward!” can be heard being chanted.

He wrote in the accompanying comment: “Interesting! Will these lads who turned the procession in the Northern Capital into a chauvinistic ‘Russian March,’ humiliating the national and religious feelings of millions of non-Russian and non-Orthodox citizens of our Country, receive proper condemnation and exemplary punishments, just like the young people who acted on emotion (and their moderators) at Makhachkala Airport? After all, it’s the same article! Or is this something different?”

Representatives of the prosecutor’s office sent the text for linguistic analysis, which found that the materials contained evidence of:

—incitement to hatred or enmity towards the group “Russians, Orthodox believers”;

—negative assessment of the group “Russians, Orthodox believers”;

—derogatory statements regarding the group “Russians, Orthodox believers”;

—fomenting enmity or hatred towards one group distinguished by national and religious identity, as compared with another group distinguished by national and religious identity.

13.05.2025

13:38

Saint Petersburg

In St Petersburg, the soloist of the band “Silver machine,” Alexey Sidorov, was fined 20,000 roubles (approx. US$220) over the song “Zа наших.” The Primorsky District Court found signs of incitement to hatred or enmity in the track (Art. 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences), according to the press service of the St Petersburg courts.

The song is performed from the perspective of state authorities calling citizens to go to war. The press service statement refers to an expert assessment that concluded: “The primary intent of the materials under examination may be defined as satire with elements of sarcasm.” At the same time, “the ambiguity of the language means that the appeals expressed may be perceived by recipients as calls for violent, including terrorist, actions.”

The press service describes Sidorov as a member of the left-radical movement “Workers’ Power.”

26.04.2025

20:24

Perm Krai

The case against Anna Pyanzina from Perm, brought under the article on incitement of hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code), has been dropped. This was reported by the Telegram channel “Verkhnyaya Kurya Against the Construction of a Migrant Mosque,” and the publication was noted by “7×7—Horizontal Russia.”

In early February, residents of the Verkhnyaya Kurya neighbourhood in Perm, a major city in the Urals, held an event called “Snow Women for the Mosque.” They dressed the figures in headscarves, then redressed them in niqabs. Signs were placed next to the sculptures saying: “Agree to a harem with a fridge,” “I’ll run off with Masturbek,” “I’ll cool the ardour of any migrant.” “We, the women of Verkhnyaya Kurya, do not need migrants with their mosque. But it’s said that someone is still waiting for them,” said Anna Pyanzina, leader of the movement against the mosque, in a video as she glanced towards the snow figures.

On 26 February, an administrative case was initiated against her, based on a linguistic assessment. According to police, Pyanzina had made negative judgements about the social group “men-Muslims-migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus,” and negatively assessed marrying Muslims and adopting Islam. During questioning, she stated that she had not intended to offend or insult anyone, although she remained opposed to the construction of a large mosque, which she said could provoke the creation of a “migrant enclave.”

The case was sent to the Motovilikhinsky District Court of Perm, but the judge returned it to the police for corrections.

A new linguistic assessment found no “statements asserting or justifying the necessity of hostile actions (involving violence, causing harm or damage).” As a result, the proceedings were terminated due to a complete lack of any offence having occurred.

01.04.2025

15:01

Kirov Oblast

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.

19.03.2025

15:44

Samara Oblast

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.

11.03.2025

13:15

Samara Oblast

A protocol for inciting enmity or hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences) has been drawn up against Samara-based human rights defender Natalya Baranova. The reason for this was her comments about law enforcement officers. Baranova herself reported this, and the Telegram channel “#Disclosed” drew attention to the post.

The protocol will be considered by the Leninsky District Court of Samara on 17 March.

“It turned out that this is a personal vendetta by the head of the Centre for Countering Extremism, Colonel Khvalyov. Because I made fun of him, called him semi-literate, incapable of understanding texts written in Russian,” Baranova wrote.

01.03.2025

21:08

Republic of North Ossetia–Alania

The Promyshlenny District Court in Vladikavkaz fined two local residents under the law on inciting hatred (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code) for their criticism of law enforcement officers. The rulings were highlighted by the “Kavkaz.Realii” publication.

Both decisions were issued back on 7 February.

In the first case, a report was drawn up against Vladimir Akoev, a resident of Vladikavkaz, for a comment he posted in a local online group. According to the court’s ruling, he wrote (as in the original document):

“Only one thing on your minds—rising through the ranks, nothing human left in you, lives mean nothing to you, only the suffering and pain, wanting to imprison and torment people. I wish death on all of you, you bast*rds, all the cops who have rotted in this lousy system, you’re like zombies now, be human. And for those who won’t, I wish you and your kin death and all the worst, so that you and your families feel the pain of ordinary people who aren’t in your f*cking system.”

The document does not specify under which post this comment was left.

The second report was made against Alina Torchynova. The ruling states that she left an audio message under a post in a Telegram channel with the following content:

“The traffic police—they’re the main ones, the main players in all of this, they make money off it, what are we even talking about? Yeah, I understand, maybe you, my companions, don’t quite realise, and now they’ll get onto me and take me to court for, umm… I did, well, kind of… insult them a bit. Well, to put it politely—listen, you bastards, what are you doing there, what are you up to? What are you getting—what are you getting paid for? Eh? I really do discriminate against you, you shameless ones. What are you—what are you doing there? Eh?”

As evidence of incitement to hatred, in both cases, police provided an expert statement from the forensic centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in North Ossetia—which concluded that the statements expressed negative opinions about police officers.

Both Akoev and Torchynova pleaded guilty. They were each fined 10,000 rubles (about US$110).

14.02.2025

16:45

Saint Petersburg

A court in St Petersburg has found local resident Nina Akimova guilty under the article on inciting hatred or enmity (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Offences Code). This was reported by the press service of the St Petersburg courts.

Akimova posted several comments from her smartphone on VKontakte, including the following: “WOULD BE GOOD TO STRANGLE YOU BASTARDS—Putinists!!!” According to the press service, an expert analysis found “linguistic and psychological indicators of degrading the dignity of a group of people identified by their allegiance to the President of the Russian Federation, V. V. Putin.”

In court, Akimova explained that she had posted these comments to express her opinion and so that “the current authorities would know the people’s views on certain shortcomings,” but admitted that she should have expressed herself in a more appropriate way.

The Dzerzhinsky District Court in St Petersburg fined her 10,000 roubles (approx. US$110).

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Comments about police officers and Putin: why people are prosecuted under the article on inciting hatred