A court in Cheboksary has arrested Mikhail Oreshnikov, the leader of the republic's independence movement, in absentia. This was reported by the telegram channel "Angry Chuvashia". The website of the Supreme Court of Chuvashia reports that the decision to take him into custody on September 15 was left unchanged .
Oreshnikov is being prosecuted under the article on the use of violence against a government official (Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code), as well as under three episodes of the article on inciting hatred or enmity with the use of violence or the threat of its use (clause “a” of Part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code).
The case of violence was opened in 2014. According to Angry Chuvashia, the activist was speaking out against the annexation of Crimea that year and was planning to organize a May Day demonstration in support of Ukraine, but he was detained when he left his home. According to the Telegram channel, Oreshnikov was beaten at the police station, and a criminal case of violence against a police officer was fabricated against him.
Because of persecution, Oreshnikov left Russia for Ukraine, he lives in Kyiv. In 2022, the activist created the movement "Irekle Chovash En", fighting for the independence of Chuvashia, he is preparing an online referendum on the republic's exit from the Russian Federation. During his life in Chuvashia, the man headed a cell of the ultra-right movement "Restrukt" there.
In May, security forces conducted a search of Oreshnikov's relatives. On July 10, Rosinfomonitoring added the activist to the list of extremists and terrorists.