Krasnodar Territory Among Most Anti-War Protocols in Russia
Joint analytical material by the Nestka publication and the OVD-Info human rights project stated that in Russia, since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, at least 19,443 people have been detained for participating in anti-war rallies and pickets, as well as for posting on social networks. This is a record number of politically motivated detainees over the past ten years. As journalists and human rights activists have calculated, since February 24, there have been only 18 days without such detentions.
Also, since the end of February, especially after the laws on criminal and administrative liability for the so-called fakes about the Russian army and discrediting its actions were introduced in Russia in March, the authorities have initiated more than 300 criminal cases against citizens for their anti-war position. In total, 378 Russians became accused or suspected in criminal cases. Most of them, 134 people, are charged with fabricating, for example, posts on social networks about the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian cities of Bucha and Mariupol. Forty-six people are being prosecuted under the article on vandalism, in particular for damaging the Z and V symbols used by the Russian army during the fighting. Forty-four people are accused of attacking the buildings of military commissariats and administrations; 37 people are charged with discrediting the armed forces' actions. Separately, it is noted that nine Russians became suspects or accused in criminal cases for talking with acquaintances.
At the moment, 50 sentences have already been passed in criminal cases. The most notorious are sentences of 8.5 years in prison for opposition politician Ilya Yashin and 6 years and 11 months for Moscow municipal deputy Alexei Gorinov.
In terms of administrative cases, over 5,000 protocols have been submitted to Russian courts since the beginning of the war. Most of them - 701 cases - were considered in Moscow. The top five for this indicator also include St. Petersburg, the Krasnodar Territory, Tatarstan, and the annexed Crimea.