The head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs fired two colonels for refusing to provide asylum to a pro-Russian blogger from Latvia

The head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, fired two employees of the department for “a formal approach to considering citizens’ applications.” The press service of the ministry reports this.

The deputy head of the department for migration issues of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Moscow, police colonel Igor Dudnik, and the head of the department for refugee issues of the department for migration issues of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Moscow, police colonel Tatyana Dmitrieva, were dismissed from the ministry.

The dismissal is related to the case of Latvian blogger Sergei Vasiliev. The Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement that Vasiliev was forced to leave Latvia “due to criminal prosecution in a number of states related to his active humanitarian and volunteer activities to support the population of Donbass.” He came to Russia and applied to the Moscow department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a request to provide him with temporary asylum.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs claims that Vasiliev’s application was considered “superficially” and without taking into account “circumstances, including the presence of a threat to his life and health” on the territory of Latvia. He was denied asylum in Russia. This decision has now been reversed, and the blogger will be granted asylum in the near future, the ministry said.

“Medusa” in Russia is now not only a “foreign agent”, but also an “undesirable” organization. This status is much worse than before. Nevertheless, we continue to work. We can still be read. It is safe. Here are all the answers to troubling questions.

• Sergey Vasiliev is the creator of the telegram channel “Anti-Fascists of the Baltic States”; just over 6 thousand people subscribe to him. In particular, it contains reposts of the channels of TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, pranksters Vovan and Lexus, and video fragments from RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan. In addition, it reported on the recruitment of “partisans and underground fighters” in the Baltic countries, who would collect information “about Nazi criminals.” Vasiliev claimed that in Latvia a criminal case had been opened against him for “aiding terrorism” - according to his version, because of the collection of humanitarian aid to Donbass. He left for Russia in September 2022.