The following is our review of the primary and most representative events in the misuse of Russia's anti-extremist legislation in June 2024. This review concludes the series of similar publications in the Misuse of Anti-Extremism section. We will continue to prepare and publish analytic materials and reviews on specific topics related to legislation and law enforcement.

Lawmaking

On August 8, Vladimir Putin signed dozens of new laws adopted by the State Duma in July, including new rules to tighten control over the Internet.

The most important of them was a package of laws on trash streaming.

The first law in the package introduces into the Criminal Code (CC) an aggravating circumstance (paragraph “t” of Article 63 Part 1 CC) worded as follows: “committing an intentional crime with its public demonstration, including on mass media or information and telecommunication networks (including the Internet).” A similar formula was introduced as a qualifying feature for a number of intentional violent crimes.

The second law from the package introduces into the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO) a ban on “distribution on information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, of information that insults human dignity and public morality, expresses clear disrespect for society, depicts actions that contain illegal elements, including violent ones, disseminated based on hooligan, mercenary or other ignoble motives, if these actions contain no attributes of a criminal offense.” The ban does not apply to “works of science, literature, or art that have historical, artistic or cultural value, materials published by registered media outlets, or photo and video materials intended for scientific or medical use or for study under federal educational standards and federal educational programs.” Violating this ban is punishable by fines of up to 100 thousand rubles for citizens, up to 200 thousand rubles for officials, and up to a million rubles for legal entities, with confiscation of equipment used for producing the prohibited materials.

The third law concerns blocking access to online materials. It introduces a ban on disseminating such information without the exception cited above. Such information on the Internet is to be blocked upon request of the Prosecutor General's Office. Social media will have to identify it independently; it will be regarded as prohibited for distribution among minors.

Many amendments, completely unrelated to trash streams, were included in this bill in preparation for its second reading. The law “On Communication” is subject to significant changes. The list of information that the Prosecutor General’s Office can block extrajudicially has been expanded – in addition to the above-mentioned trash streams, the list now includes “materials that contain information restricted from dissemination by acts of the President of the Russian Federation.” Moreover, the law gives the Prosecutor General’s Office the right to request that Roskomnadzor “manage” a communication network in case of “massive or recurring dissemination of information” that the Prosecutor General's Office is mandated to block." Requests of the Prosecutor General's Office will identify the Internet resources to be “managed” by utilizing so-called “technical means of countering threats” (tekhnicheskiye sredstva protivodeystviya ugrozam, TSPU) and indicate the relevant time period and territory (Russia-wide, in a specific region or parts of it) as well as “other communication network management features” including “information about using TSPU to apply access restrictions” to a problematic resource. Thus, while previously the Prosecutor General’s Office had the authority to block individual resources, now, in collaboration with Roskomnadzor, it will be able to proceed to “network management.” Judging by the text of the law, such management would not be limited to blocking one resource using TSPU, but could also involve other measures that could likely include rerouting, partial traffic slowdown, etc. Simultaneously, requirements for telecom operators become more stringent. From now on, all Internet providers without exception will be required to pass traffic “on their connected communication networks” through TSPU and provide Roskomnadzor with the MAC address of their users – countrywide, from a specific region or parts thereof. To obtain a license, the provider’s networks and means of communications must meet “the requirements... for conducting operational investigative activities.”

Other amendments to the law “On Communication” and other standards, also signed on August 8, dealt primarily with regulating the sale of SIM cards to foreigners. Nevertheless, in preparation for the second reading, this bill also came to include completely unrelated provisions – on regulating the activities of public groups on messengers and social media. As a result, the law “On Information” came to include amendments that require owners of instant messaging services and social networks to provide information about their users upon request of agencies of the executive branch. In addition, the law requires users with a social network audience of more than 10 thousand to provide Roskomnadzor with personally identifiable information about themselves. Roskomnadzor shall maintain a special register of pages belonging to such popular users. Social media owners will be obligated to post government-specified information from the registry on these users' pages and close access to pages not included in the registry upon Roskomadzor’s request within 24 hours. Both popular and ordinary users are not allowed to “subsequently disseminate” information previously shared on a page not included on the register. If a popular user fails to contact Roskomnadzor to ensure that his page is included in the register, they are banned from collecting donations on this page. The "On Advertising" law has been amended to prohibit advertising on the pages of popular social media users who are not included on the official register.

Another package of laws, signed on the same day, introduced changes to the procedure for recognizing organizations as undesirable. In particular, the law “On Measures to Influence Persons Involved in Violations of Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens of the Russian Federation” came to include a note, according to which not only foreign non-governmental organizations but also those that include any state as its founder or participant (except for organizations in which Russia is a participant) can have their activities recognized as undesirable.

Several new legislative initiatives published in July must also be noted

On July 15, the government introduced a bill in the State Duma adding the reference to the concept of “financing extremist activities” to the law against money laundering and its corresponding legal norms. This consolidates the existing practice, since, in fact, those prosecuted under anti-extremism legislation have long been subject to special financial control and restrictions. In addition, the bill proposes expanding the set of criminal charges that can serve as the basis for including individuals on the List of Extremists and Terrorists maintained by the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring (Rosfinmonitoring). The corresponding set of Criminal Code articles already includes most articles related to extremism. The proposal will add articles on genocide and violation of the territorial integrity of Russia, as well as individual paragraphs of articles on violent crimes, hooliganism, and disseminating inaccurate information about actions of the Russian armed forces and government officials abroad, when motivated by hatred or enmity – political, ideological, racial, national or religious – or targeting any social group. Other articles of the Criminal Code must also be taken into account, if crimes committed under it were qualified as motivated by hatred (paragraph “f” of Article 63 Part 1 CC).

A draft amendment to the same law, created by Rosfinmonitoring, was published on July 25. The agency proposed granting the government the authority to determine the limit on monthly financial expenses allowed for those on the List of Extremists and Terrorists. The current version of the law stipulates a limit of 10 thousand rubles for an individual on the List and the same amount per person for every family member with no independent sources of income; this amount can only come from salary or wages. If the amendments are adopted, financial transactions within the limit will become possible not only for salaries or wages but also for other sources of income. Individuals would have to ask Rosfinmonitoring for permission to conduct operations with their other income, and the agency will review applications within 15 days. The amendments also stipulate that if an individual from the Rosfinmonitoring list becomes wanted for a crime, banks must suspend any financial transactions on their accounts, with exceptions only for taxes, fines, and other mandatory payments.

On July 19, a group of deputies led by Vasily Piskarev submitted to the State Duma a bill that proposed to add the hate motive as a qualifying element under Article 167 Part 2 CC (destruction or damage of property). The explanatory note states that the initiative is related to damage to the property of “citizens and organizations” who placed “visual information” in support of the special military operation on their buildings, structures, or cars. The bill’s authors also cite data from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to which more than 60 episodes of arson against military enlistment offices and other government buildings were classified as involving the hate motive.

On July 22, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs published a draft presidential decree “On Approving the Strategy for Countering Extremism in the Russian Federation.” The draft strategy is intended to take into account the peculiarities of the political situation and legislative changes of recent years. It states, in particular, that unfriendly states use the Ukrainian crisis to unleash hybrid wars against Russia and “incite aggressive Russophobic sentiments in the world.” To counter these phenomena, the strategy provides for “improving mechanisms to counter illegal and anti-Russian activities of foreign or international non-governmental organizations including those recognized as undesirable territory of the Russian Federation,” measures aimed “at preventing and countering the spread of extremism, neo-Nazism and Ukrainian nationalism,” “creation of a data bank on persons who left the Russian Federation to participate in extremist organizations, and training in foreign centers of unfriendly states,” identification and suppression of “incitement to ‘color revolutions’,” and monitoring inter-ethnic and territorial conflicts “that lead to separatist manifestations on corresponding territories.” The list of proposed measures for state migration policy has expanded significantly. These measures include stricter conditions for foreigners staying in Russia and the development of programs for their social and cultural adaptation.

It is also worth noting that, back on July 8, the Ministry of Internal Affairs published draft amendments to the CAO. The Ministry proposed to radically expand the list of administrative articles that allow for the deportation of foreign citizens, including Article 20.29 CAO on disseminating extremist materials, Article 20.3 on displaying prohibited symbols, Article 20.3.1 on inciting hatred, Article 20.3.3 on discrediting the army, and other administrative norms that cover public statements and actions.

Sanctions for Anti-Government Statements and Activities

Calls for Terrorism

On July 8, the 2nd Western District Military Court sentenced theater director Yevgenia Berkovich and screenwriter and theater teacher Svetlana Petriychuk to six years in a minimum-security penal colony with a three-year ban on administering Internet resources under Article 205.2 Part 2 CC (public calls for carrying out terrorist activities, public justification of terrorism or propaganda of terrorism in Internet). Their case has become one of the highest-profile cases of sanctions imposed for public statements in recent years.

Berkovich and Petriychuk were detained on May 4, 2023 in Moscow and remained under arrest the entire time preceding the verdict. The case went on trial in May 2024 and was initially open to the public, but then the process was closed at the prosecutorial request due to unspecified threats allegedly received by the trial’s participants.

The case was based on the video of the Finist the Bright Falcon reading at the Lyubimovka Festival of Young Drama, published online in 2019. The corresponding performance was staged by the SOSO Daughters Theater project in 2021. The play tells the story of women who were recruited into militant Islamic organizations recognized as terrorist. The authors raise the question of what exactly allows recruiters to successfully deceive their correspondents, convincing them to get married online and then reunite with their virtual spouses in Syria. The play can be considered somewhat of a documentary as it draws inspiration from various sources, including court decisions under Article 208 CC (regarding participation in illegal armed groups) and messages from peaceful Islamic educational websites. It weaves together these documentary textual elements with fragments from Russian folk tales and scenes from well-known Walt Disney cartoons.

In our opinion, the play contained no signs of propaganda or endorsement of the ideology of ISIS or militant Islamism. On the contrary, the play clearly aims to combat the ideology and actions of terrorists. In addition, the performance received the national Golden Mask award in 2022 and had a successful three-year theater run. The fact, that it suddenly attracted such keen interest and clearly unfounded law enforcement claims, that the defendants were subject to the most severe measure of restraint and sentenced to severe punishments can likely be explained by the public activities of the director, Yevgenia Berkovich, who is a well-known blogger and a poet, who authored a series of anti-war poems.

The prosecution initially relied on an expert opinion compiled by religious scholar Roman Silantyev, a notorious fighter against “sects” and “non-traditional Islam,” and his colleagues at the Moscow State Linguistic University. The head of the Human Rights Center of the World Russian People's Council, Silantyev invented his own field of science, “destructology," which he now applies to a wide range of social phenomena including various banned associations. According to the expert opinion, the play contains "signs of destructive ideologies," namely the ideologies of ISIS, jihadism, and caliphism, as well as “signs of the destructive subculture of Russian neophyte wives of terrorists and extremists.” Additionally, the experts identified elements of “radical feminist ideology” in the performance materials. After the text of the examination was made public and caused predictable public outrage, a new examination was ordered.

The next expertise was conducted by Svetlana Mochalova, an expert at the FSB department for the Sverdlovsk Region, whose conclusions have been repeatedly used as evidence of guilt in “extremist” cases, in particular, in cases against Muslims or on recognizing Islamic materials as extremist. Mochalova felt that the playwright and the director specifically created a “romantic image of a terrorist” in the play to make him “interesting and attractive to girls and women,” in contrast to Russian men, whom the play’s female characters characterize negatively. Mochalova’s expert opinion offered exceedingly dubious interpretations of Islamic traditions, ignored the general and quite obvious idea of the play, and made not only linguistic but also legal conclusions, thus stepping outside her area of expertise.

The authors of expert opinions did not participate in the trial. Witnesses in the case were mostly participants in the production of the play, famous actors who had watched it, theater scholars, including experts from the Golden Mask festival, and an expert linguist from the defense side. Almost all of them, except for Vladimir Karpuk, an actor and director from Nizhny Novgorod, and a certain secret witness who negatively assessed the production as “unpatriotic,” stated in court that they perceived the performance as a talented artistic statement on a socially important topic with preventive value.

On July 28, Pavel Kushnir, a 39-year-old pianist and former soloist of the Birobidzhan Regional Philharmonic Society, died of heart failure as a result of a dry hunger strike in the SIZO-1 pre-trial detention center in Birobidzhan. He had been on hunger strike since the first day of his stay in the pre-trial detention. Kushnir was arrested in May under Article 205.2 Part 2 CC. According to the investigation, he posted materials on YouTube, in which he “called for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order in the Russian Federation via a revolution.” Kushnir's YouTube channel “Foreign Agent Mulder” has a total of four videos published since November 2022. Kushnir recorded his musings on the current situation in Russia and protested the political course of the government led by Vladimir Putin, which he called a “fascist regime,” and the armed actions in Ukraine, as well as the persecution of LGBT activists and oppositionists. Kushnir called for an “anti-fascist revolution” in Russia, but these calls were abstract. His videos mentioned no specific violent actions, and, in general, his reflections were rather philosophical in nature. Kushnir previously participated in opposition rallies, went on pickets, distributed anti-war leaflets, and went on a hunger strike. All these forms of protest were peaceful, and he was never charged with preparing violent actions. In our view, there were no grounds to charge Kushnir with propaganda of terrorism, and, in general, his statements did not pose a public danger.

Inciting Hatred towards the Authorities

In July, we know of one case of inappropriate sanctions imposed under Article 20.3.1 CAO (incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity) for critical statements against government officials, not associated with calls for violence. On July 3, the Leninsky District Court of Vladimir imposed a fine of 20 thousand rubles on democratic activist Denis Kondrashkin, who had left for Australia. He was punished for his post in a local VKontakte community with the negative assessment of the social group “Russia’s authorities.”

In addition, we recorded three cases of sanctions under Article 20.1 Part 3 CAO for “disrespect for authorities and society” in July. Two people faced fines of 30 thousand rubles each for their posts with rude criticism of the president; the exact punishment imposed on the third defendant is unknown.

Vandalism Motivated by Hatred

On July 8, an 18-year-old student was detained in Ukhta (Komi Republic). As a suspect under Article 214 Part 2 CC (vandalism motivated by political or ideological hatred), he faced a preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain actions. According to the investigators, the night before, he used a black marker to write unspecified statements on posters with images of participants of the special military operation in the Ukhta city park. The student explained his act by stating that he was drunk.

Discrediting the Use of the Armed Forces or Activities of Government Agencies

According to the data of the State Automated System “Pravosudie,” as of August 14, at least 236 people were punished in July under Article 20.3.3 CAO for discrediting the use of armed forces and actions of government agencies abroad. The Mediazona portal calculated that the number of reports under this article, received by the courts since March 2022, exceeded 10 thousand by early August.

“Fakes about the Army” Motivated by Hatred

We consider criminal cases under paragraph “e” of Article 207.3 Part 2 CC (dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Russian army motivated by political hatred) inappropriate unless the incriminating statements contain incitement to violence.

Organized Anti-Government Activities

On July 29, the Vologda City Court sentenced lawyer and activist Yevgeny Molotov under Article 282.3 Part 1 CC (financing extremist activities) to a fine of 600 thousand rubles but reduced this amount to 400 thousand rubles, taking into account the time spent in pre-trial detention. The charges were based on a monetary transfer of one thousand rubles sent to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) on August 5, 2021 – the day after the decision to ban the organization entered into force.

On July 3, Yulia Navalnaya was charged in absentia with participation in an extremist community under Article 282.1 Part 2 CC. On July 9, the Basmanny District Court issued a warrant for her arrest in absentia. The case is being investigated by the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia. According to the investigators, starting in February 2024, Alexei Navalny’s widow, together with other FBK participants, “created videos to discredit the current government in connection with the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine in order to increase the protest sentiments aimed at violent overthrow of the constitutional order in the Russian Federation as well as to collect donations for the activities of the extremist FBK.”

Displaying Banned Symbols

It was reported in July that, back on June 17, the Leninsky District Court of Stavropol issued a two-year suspended sentence to a “citizen of the USSR,” retiree Vladimir Nesonov, under Article 282.4 Part 1 CC (repeated display of Nazi symbols). Previously, in December 2022, the Promyshlenny District Court of Stavropol placed him under arrest for two days under Article 20.3 Part 1 CAO for posting on his VKontakte page a collage depicting Vladimir Putin in Nazi uniform. At the same time, the court fined Nesonov under Article 20.3.3 Part 1 CAO for posting a link to a video entitled “Total mobilization in RF. They will scoop out everyone and send them to their death. The great reaping has begun.” The criminal case was based on several images shared by Nesonov including a historical photograph taken in Nazi-occupied Warsaw. The photo shows Nazi banners flying in the square in front of the Saxon Palace and an installation in the shape of the “V” symbol with the caption “Deutschland siegt an allen Fronten” (“Germany wins on all fronts”). Nesonov shared the image and accompanied it with a comment expressing his opposition to the use of “V” as a symbol of victory over Nazism, since this symbol had also been used by the Nazis. In his opinion, since May 9, 1945, “one such symbol, the one nobody could cancel, the best, most valid symbol has been the Victory Banner.” It should be noted that Nesonov directly condemned Nazism in his commentary, and the law permits the use of Nazi symbols “if they form a negative attitude to the ideology of Nazism and extremism and exhibit no signs of propaganda or justification of Nazi and extremist ideology.”

We should also note the above-mentioned case of Valery Kalaidzhan from Neftegorsk, who posted images intended to draw a parallel between the “Z” symbol and the swastika.

On July 5, it became known that the criminal case under Article 282.4 Part 1 CC was opened against Alexei Sokolov, a human rights defender from Yekaterinburg. On July 8, the court sent him to a pre-trial detention center. The case was based on posts on Sokolov’s Telegram channel “Human Rights Defenders of the Urals.” According to the investigation, the channel’s posts of November–December 2023 contained “links in the form of the Facebook social network trademark;” they also “contained knowingly false socially significant information.” Previously, on October 11, 2023, the Leninsky District Court of Yekaterinburg placed Sokolov under arrest for five days under Article 20.3 Part 1 CAO for the button with Facebook logo in the footer of the “Human Rights Defenders of the Urals” website. In our opinion, the charges against Sokolov are inappropriate. He did not participate in the activities of Meta Corporation but used the Facebook logo and the social network itself to disseminate information about his work.

Protecting Historical Memory and “Traditional Values”

Desecrating the National Flag

On July 3, it became known that a criminal case was opened against Taimuraz Dudayev, a history teacher from Alagir in North Ossetia, under Article 329 CC (desecration of the state flag of the Russian Federation). It was based on a shared post from the Telegram channel of TV presenter Lera Kudryavtseva. In March 2022, she posted a screenshot from stories with a photograph of a sticker in the form of a crossed-out pig in the colors of the Russian flag affixed to a store’s door. The image also included the following text: “France. This is brutal. Hate for Russians is growing, the only question is: what do the inhabitants have to do with this?” Kudryavtseva accompanied the image with the caption “No Words” and a crying emoji. According to media reports, Dudayev took a screenshot of the post and published it on his social media account with the following comment: “In recent decades, the West has been talking a lot about tolerance and humanism, kneeling over the death of a dark-skinned drug addict and a criminal, protecting LGBT rights, but here..... I understand  #etodrugoe [this is different].” In our opinion, this case has nothing to do with either desecration of the flag or disrespect for it. On the contrary, the North Ossetia resident condemned the negative attitude towards Russians and, accordingly, to the Russian flag, reproaching Western society for its double standards. We see no grounds for prosecuting Dudayev for posting this image.

“Rehabilitating Nazism”

In July, two sentences were issued under Article 354.1 CC on the rehabilitation of Nazism, which we view as inappropriate. Four additional individuals became defendants in newly opened cases.

On July 10, the Ryazan Regional Court issued a verdict under Article 354.1 Part 4 CC (dissemination on the Internet of information about Russia’s days of military glory expressing clear disrespect for society) against Maxim Malyshev, a resident of the Spassky District of the Ryazan Region. He was sentenced to a year of compulsory labor with 10 % of his earnings withheld and a two-year ban on administering websites. The investigation's claims were prompted by three VKontakte posts by Malyshev made in 2022–2023. The first one, posted in April 2022, contained sharp criticism of the actions and ideology of the Russian authorities. Among other considerations, Malyshev posted that “it has now become clear what kind of victory we celebrate regularly and so furiously” – this is a “victory of the past,” “[victory] of rot over all things living and real,” “destruction of everything that has not yet lost its ability to resist.” On February 24, 2023, Malyshev posted a video by Leonid Parfyonov – a review of the year 2022 in the style of the TV show Namedni. Malyshev accompanied the video with a comment stating that he would “immediately punch in the eye” anyone who congratulated him on February 23. He explained that such congratulations now sound like wishing for him to participate in hostilities. He also referred to the Defender of the Fatherland Day as a “cursed day” and questioned the need to defend a fatherland “that no one attacks, but which constantly fires across its borders, labeling it as anything but aggression.” Malyshev’s third post, published on May 9, 2023, was dedicated to Victory Day. It contained a video and a textual comment about Victory Day being “long discredited,” Malyshev called May 9 a day of remembrance and sorrow that has been turned into a “terrible orgy” and a “death holiday.” In our view, criticism of the ways of celebrating Victory Day and Defender of the Fatherland Day, as well as differing interpretations or even deliberate distortions of historical facts, should not warrant criminal prosecution unless they are accompanied by calls for violence, hatred, or discrimination. There were no such calls in Malyshev's posts.

On July 31, the Fifth Court of Appeals of General Jurisdiction overturned the May 31 decision of the Primorsky Regional Court to acquit Vladivostok resident Alexei Chernyansky under Article 354.1 Part 4 CC (rehabilitation of Nazism, that is, dissemination on the Internet of information about Russia’s days of military glory expressing clear disrespect for society). The case was returned to the court of first instance for a new trial.

Meanwhile, on July 18, blogger Konstantin Petrov from Izhevsk reported on his VKontakte page that a criminal case against him under Article 354.1 Part 4 CC (insulting the memory of defenders of the Fatherland or humiliating honor and dignity of a Great Patriotic War veteran, committed in Internet), opened on May 1, was discontinued for lack of corpus delicti. The case was opened based on a video recorded and posted on social media by Petrov on April 29 during his trip to the Murmansk Region. He stated, using obscenities, that, while sightseeing, he did not consider it necessary to visit places commemorating veterans (whom he called “superman warriors”) and war-related memorials (referred to as “places for heroes […] deaths and murders.”), or attractions associated with tragic events in general (natural disasters, execution of the royal family, etc.) In his opinion, rather than discussing the long-gone World War, we should focus on positive changes and business achievements. Petrov’s video caused outrage in the region, leading to the blogger's detention and a forced public apology. Petrov's statements can be considered inappropriate, but, despite their provocative form, they posed no significant public danger.

Countering the LGBT Movement

On July 3, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow fined Alexandra Marova – a member of the Moscow regional headquarters of the All-Russia People's Front (Obshcherossiyskiy narodnyy front, ONF), and co-founder of the “Defenders of Childhood” (Zaschitniki Detstva) foundation – in the amount of three thousand rubles under Article 20.29 CAO for mass distribution of extremist materials. The sanctions followed a post by the Telegram channel “We can help – resursy pomoschi” shared by Marova on her channel on March 23, the day after the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in the Moscow Region. The post listed contacts of organizations that could provide free psychological assistance, including a helpline and a link to the chat of the Russian LGBT Network. At the trial, Marova emphasized that she herself did not post this list on the Internet, but only shared it without noticing the contacts of the Russian LGBT Network. It is worth reminding that in June 2023, a law expanding the disposition of Article 20.29 CAO came into force. The amendments allowed for prosecution not only for the dissemination of materials listed in the Federal List, as was previously the case, but also for other materials if their content, in the court's opinion, fits the definition provided in Article 1 Part 3 of the law “On Countering Extremist Activities.” It remains unclear on what basis the court determined that the contacts of the psychological help center of the Russian LGBT Network qualify as extremist materials. Obviously, they contain no calls for or justification of extremist activities. Apparently, the court focused exclusively on the decision to ban the “international LGBT movement.”

“Insulting the Feelings of Believers”

On July 31, a magistrate of Court District No. 2 in the Zheleznodorozhny District of Ulyanovsk issued a verdict against street artist Yegor Zakharov, who goes by the pseudonym Kholtov. He was found guilty under Article 148 Part 1 CC (insulting the religious feelings of believers) and sentenced to a fine of 100 thousand rubles. Kholtov pleaded guilty, apologized to the believers, and provided financial assistance to the orphanage in the amount of seven thousand rubles. On this basis, he asked to terminate the case with a judicial fine, but the judge denied the relevant motion. The state prosecutor asked for 240 hours of community service. According to the investigators, the defendant posted on social media “images and texts containing mockery of images revered in Christianity.” The charges were based on five works by Kholtov, including an image of a woman resembling the Virgin Mary with a large bottle of beer in her hands, slogans “Poh with us” (a play on the slogan “God with us”) and “Srus” (a scatological twist on the word “Rus”), and so on.

On July 19, blogger Khavier Yarmagomedov was charged under Article 148 Part 1 CC and paragraphs “a” and “d” of Article 242.1 Part 2 (circulating materials or items with pornographic images of minors – such images were found on the defendant’s phone). On July 12, the blogger conducted a stream on Bigo Live. The video showed him stomping his foot on a cross lying on the floor, spitting on it, and insulting Christians. The stream was noticed by the Telegram channel Readovka, and the State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein demanded that the blogger be prosecuted. A case was opened under Article 148 CC, but we believe that the stream did not merit criminal prosecution. Destruction of a cross is punishable under Article 5.26 CAO (deliberate public desecration of religious or liturgical literature, objects of religious veneration, marks or emblems of ideological symbols and paraphernalia, or their damage or destruction). For his rude remarks against the Christians, the blogger could have faced responsibility under Article 20.3.1 CAO on inciting hatred and enmity.

Persecution against Religious Organizations and Believers

Jehovah's Witnesses

In July, Jehovah's Witnesses continued to face prosecution on charges of involvement in the activities of local religious organizations that were deemed extremist and banned.

Muslims

On July 10, the Kuzminsky District Court of Moscow found Zurab Dzhabrailov guilty under Article 282.2 Part 1 CC, and Dzheykhun Rustamov – guilty under Article 282.2 Part 2 CC. Dzhabrailov was sentenced to six years in a minimum-security penal colony, and Rustamov – to two years and nine months. The law enforcement and the court found that, from late 2019 to early 2020, both participated in gatherings of Muslims in an apartment on Vavilov Street to study the books of the Turkish theologian Said Nursi, and thus continued activities of the banned association Nurcular.

Two Muslims – the imam of a mosque in Nazarovo of Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the supply manager and cleaner of a mosque in Nytva of Perm Krai were fined under Article 20.29 CAO because religious books recognized as extremist were found in both mosques. We view this case as inappropriate.