Detentions, trials and pressure over anti-war statements and criticism of the war in Ukraine: Human rights news, court updates & analysis | 152 related articles

28.05.2025

10:38

The Nizhegorodsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod fined a local resident 30,000 roubles (about US$325) under the article on “discrediting the Russian army” (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) due to her anti-war solo protest. This was reported by OVD-Info legal defender Pavel Turchin, who assisted the protester.

The young woman was detained and taken to the police station for the protocol to be drawn up in mid-April when she went out with a “No to war!” sign to the “Nebo” shopping centre.

23.05.2025

15:28

Anastasia Sholokhova, a resident of Bratsk (Irkutsk region, a city in Siberia), was fined 35,000 rubles (approximately US$380) on 21 March under the article on “discrediting the army” (Part 1 Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). She herself informed OVD-Info about this.

A police report was filed against her over a video in which she called for the relocation of residents from a dangerous building in Bratsk. The video was posted on her VKontakte page. In it, she says: “This is what NATO envies us for. We’re going somewhere to protect someone, but who will protect people here?”

12:35

The Kuybyshev District Court of St Petersburg fined 84-year-old siege survivor Lyudmila Vasilyeva 10,000 roubles (approximately US$115) for holding an anti-war protest. This was reported by photographer Andrey Bok.

On the third anniversary of the war, 24 February, Vasilyeva stood near Gostiny Dvor—a city landmark—with a placard reading: “People, let’s stop the war! We are responsible for peace on planet Earth.” She remained there for about an hour. Police officers approached her during the protest, but did not detain her.

In April, it became known that an official record of “discrediting the Russian army” had been filed against Lyudmila Vasilyeva. At first, the court returned the record to the police to correct procedural errors, but the case was later resubmitted to the court.

21.05.2025

20:55

Saint Petersburg

The Kronstadt District Court of St Petersburg has fined dance teacher Anna Erdynieva 10,000 rubles (about US$110) for an anti-war protest held on 9 May. This was reported by the city courts’ joint press service. Erdynieva’s lawyer from OVD-Info, Nikita Sorokin, confirmed the information about the fine.

On 9 May, a St Petersburg resident went out into the street with a sign reading: “8–9 May is a day to remember and mourn the victims of inhuman aggression.” The paper also had two handwritten slogans, both reading “No to war,” and a drawing of a raccoon.

According to Sorokin, she held two protests in different locations in St Petersburg using the same placard. However, law enforcement treated these as two separate public events.

“In one location she [Anna Erdynieva] allegedly obstructed vehicle traffic, and in another, the passage of military personnel,” her lawyer explained.

Because of these two incidents, she was charged under the article for participating in a picket that interfered with transport infrastructure and pedestrian movement (Part 6.1, Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code). Her lawyer added that the police reports were based on two nearly identical photos taken in different locations. It was under one of these reports that the court fined her today.

Furthermore, as Nikita Sorokin pointed out, writing two reports for the same offence is unlawful as, by law, a person cannot be penalised twice for the same act.

Police also classified the photos of Erdynieva as actions aimed at “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces” (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). For this, too, they drew up two reports against her.

According to Nikita Sorokin, he will appeal the court’s decision to fine Erdynieva at a higher court.

Anna Erdynieva was detained on 12 May. Security officers lured her to Kronstadt, an island city within St Petersburg, by pretending to be prospective dance clients. She was then taken to the police station, where the reports were drawn up.
She spent two nights in the station. On 14 May, she was taken to the Kronstadt District Court. The judge sent all the police reports back due to numerous violations, but the officers did not correct the paperwork. The administrative cases were transferred to another judge.
Upon completion of 48 hours in custody, Erdynieva and her lawyer Nikita Sorokin tried to leave the court building. However, traffic police and the National Guard arrived, preventing their departure. Officers insisted that Sorokin and Erdynieva return to court “to postpone the hearing.”
Only late in the evening on 14 May were the lawyer and his client released by the police.

18.05.2025

10:21

Human rights defender Maksim Davydov, who advocates for the rights of illegally mobilised individuals in occupied Donetsk, has been fined 45,000 roubles (approx. US$500) under the article on “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces” (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). This was reported by ASTRA, citing Davydov himself.

The case was triggered by three comments posted in a Telegram chat called “MDNR.” Two of them were from February this year. The last comment, but in a somewhat different wording, was from November 2024, as discovered by OVD-Info.

“Astra [an independent Russian publication], the only legal lever to force Russian weakoviks to act”;
“In the morning of 20 February 2025 in the Chervonohvardeyskyi district of Makiivka [a city in eastern Ukraine], militants from the illegal armed formation ‘Military Commissariat’ are going around vocational colleges in the district searching for fresh meat for assaults. The LPR and DPR authorities no longer need locksmiths, electricians, or turners. The replacement of the native population with Asian savages is in full swing”;
“The special military operation is a very convenient cover for carrying out the genocide of Slavs. The Ukrainian and Russian authorities are disposing of the native population in close cooperation” (original spelling preserved).

The report on the human rights defender was drawn up by “Centre E” officer Mikhail Krasy. Maksim Davydov himself stated that he was expressing his own personal opinion in the comments.

He also said that the case was considered “illegally and not according to protocol.” In particular, the original papers from the court have no official (wet) stamps.

“I am preparing complaints to the judicial department, to the Supreme Court, I will challenge and file appeals. Only death will stop me,” said Maksim Davydov.

14.05.2025

19:50

In Kronstadt, on 12 May, Anna Erdineeva, a resident of St Petersburg, was detained for holding an anti-war picket. She was held by the police for two days and is still being refused release. This was reported by OVD-Info lawyer Nikita Sorokin.

Erdineeva was charged over a solo anti-war picket she held on 9 May. According to the official report, her placard read: “No to war No to war 8–9 May is a Day of Remembrance and Sorrow for the victims of inhuman aggression.”

Erdineeva is a dance teacher and it turned out that to detain her, the police posed as a client and invited her to come to Kronstadt. After her arrest, Erdineeva was taken to the police station in Kronstadt district, St Petersburg. There, she was written up in two reports under the article on participating in an unauthorised public event that caused disruption to pedestrian and traffic movement (Part 6.2, Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences), and another two reports were filed under the article on “discrediting” the Russian army (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

Erdineeva was held for two nights in the police station and on 14 May she was brought to Kronstadt District Court. The judge sent all the police reports back due to numerous violations. However, according to Sorokin, the police did not correct the reports and ordered Erdineeva to attend court again, transferring the administrative cases to a different judge.

Currently, Erdineeva and her lawyer are trying to leave the court premises as 48 hours have passed since her detention. However, traffic police and the National Guard were called to the court building, and so far Erdineeva has not been able to leave.

23:10 Anna Erdineeva and lawyer Nikita Sorokin were unable to leave the court grounds due to actions by the security forces. They had to attend a hearing for one of her administrative cases.

Eventually, the hearing was postponed to 21 May to allow for questioning of police officers. After that, Erdineeva and Sorokin were able to leave the court building and exit the grounds; they are now free.

15:31

Sverdlovsk Oblast

On 13 May, authorities in the closed city of Lesnoy (Sverdlovsk Region, in the Urals) drew up an administrative offence report against Maksim Zubenko under the article on ‘discrediting the army’ (part 1 of article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). Zubenko himself told OVD-Info about this.

The reason for the report was a comment he made under a photograph of soldiers published in December 2022: “Terrorists carrying out the orders of the balding one.”

During questioning, Zubenko explained that he was referring to Ukrainian troops following the orders of Joe Biden, and that he had not noticed the military insignia in the photo.

15:01

Moscow

The Tverskoy District Court in Moscow has fined activist Aleksandr Klevitov 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) under the law on “discrediting” the Russian army (article 20.3.3, part 1 of the Administrative Offences Code). This was reported by his OVD-Info lawyer, Nataliya Tikhonova.

Klevitov was detained on 9 May during a solo anti-war protest. At the police station, the young man was beaten and kept overnight, despite there being no legal grounds for doing so. A lawyer was not allowed to see him.

In court, Nataliya Tikhonova highlighted numerous violations. Among other things, she pointed out that instead of conducting an expert assessment, the police simply googled the phrase “No to war. Fascism will not pass”—the exact slogan on Klevitov’s placard.

13.05.2025

17:06

Sverdlovsk Oblast

The Yeltsin Centre has cancelled a lecture by philosophy populariser Dmitry Khaustov following a post on the channel “UralLive,” which is connected to Vladimir Solovyov’s propaganda team in the Urals. This was reported by the outlet It’s My City.

According to journalists, Khaustov’s lecture “Gilles Deleuze: An Assembly Guide” was meant to take place today at 19:00. Earlier in the day, the “UralLive” channel posted that the philosophy populariser had spoken out against the war in Ukraine. The channel was also outraged that Khaustov “called the special military operation ‘necropolitical newspeak that turns people into the living dead.’”

A few hours after the post, the Yeltsin Centre announced the lecture was cancelled. No reason was given.

It’s My City notes that this is already the third event since the start of the year to be cancelled following complaints from nationalists in the “Russian Community” and posts by the “UralLive” channel.

In April, the Yeltsin Centre removed director Vladimir Mirzoev’s play “I Killed the Tsar” from its programme, and in February a meeting was disrupted with the poet German Lukomnikov. According to “UralLive” and the “Russian Community,” the individuals involved supposedly hold anti-Russian views.

16:15

Saint Petersburg

Because of the music video by the band Nogu Svelo for the song “Hymn of the Doomed,” Vyacheslav Smirnov, a resident of St Petersburg, was fined 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330). This was reported by the joint press service of the St Petersburg courts.

According to them, Smirnov published the musicians’ video on his social media account (the specific platform is not mentioned).

The court found: “That is, intentionally, with the aim of undermining the authority of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and citizens’ trust in the current government, he discredited the character, goals, and objectives of the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation outside the territory of the Russian Federation.”

Smirnov did not admit guilt. He stated that he had not posted the song “Hymn of the Doomed” on his page; there was only a link to the video, not the video itself. Nevertheless, the court fined Smirnov under the article on public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Russian Armed Forces (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

In March this year, the man was detained by FSB officers and police. As reported by the court press service, Smirnov had been selling old watches online and had corresponded with a buyer for several weeks. At a meeting with the buyer, an administrative offence report was drawn up against him for a WhatsApp profile picture featuring the words “Glory to Ukraine.” At that point, security forces also found the link to “Hymn of the Doomed” on his phone.

For the profile picture, a report was made against him for propaganda of Nazi symbols (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The court sentenced him to 10 days’ arrest.

The band Nogu Svelo released the track “Hymn of the Doomed” (“Goida, orcs!”) in November 2022. It is dedicated to Russian soldiers and Russian citizens who support the war in Ukraine. The music video for the song was created in collaboration with Oleg Kuvayev, the animator of “Masyanya.”

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Detentions, trials and pressure over anti-war statements and criticism of the war in Ukraine