One anti-war critic fined, another held as Russia clamps down on opponents
Russian authorities continued to crack down on what little domestic opposition remained in the country, arresting a well-known blogger and moving to block a local politician from running for parliament.
Blogger Ilya Remeslo was a staunch supporter of Vladimir Putin until he took a dramatic turn last March, calling the president a “war criminal and thief” and saying he should resign.
He was detained for two months on suspicion of spreading false information against the military.
Separately, Boris Nadezhdin was found guilty of “displaying extremist symbols” in a ruling banning him from collecting signatures for parliamentary elections in September.
Nadezhdin, 63, rose to prominence two years ago when he tried to run for president on an anti-war platform, but was ultimately rejected because election authorities decided the signatures he submitted were faulty.
There are few genuine opposition politicians left in Russia, and former MP Nadezhdin describes himself as more of a pro-peace politician.
While most went into exile abroad, the most prominent figure, Alexei Navalny, died suddenly in an Arctic penal colony in February 2024. Russia said he died of natural causes, but UK and four European countries , externalThey said they were sure he was “poisoned with a lethal toxin.”
Nadezhdin was first declared a “foreign agent” last week, then detained on Monday over a video he republished in 2023 that briefly showed an image of Navalny. He was also banned from leaving Russia.
Being declared a foreign agent would likely prevent him from running for office, but until he was convicted for “extremist symbols” a legal loophole meant he could still collect signatures to register as a candidate.
He still has the right to appeal the decision, which fined him 1,000 rubles (£9.50; $13).
Nadezhdin, who suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes, fell out briefly when he appeared in court in his hometown of Dolgoprudny, just north of Moscow.
He denied the accusations against him and said that their main goal was to silence him and prevent him from running for the Duma (Russian parliament). He also told the court that he could not pay any fines because all his accounts were frozen.
Later Friday, blogger Remeslo also appeared in court and was sentenced to two months in pre-trial detention. His lawyer said he was taken to Moscow after being detained in his hometown of St Petersburg a few hours ago.
