The Nikulinsky District Court of Moscow received an administrative case against the writer Dmitry Bykov under the article on participation in the activities of an “undesirable organization” (Article 20.33 of the Administrative Code). The case file was found on the court’s website by Mediazona journalists.
What became the reason for drawing up a report on the writer is not yet known. The court has not yet set a hearing date for the case.
In July 2022, Bykov was recognized as a “foreign agent.” After that, the Nikulinsky court twice fined him under the article: for the lack of a “foreign agent” sign in his publications. So, in October 2022, he was fined 10 thousand rubles (Part 1 of Article 19.34.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences, abolished), and in June 2023 - 40 thousand rubles (Part 4 of Article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).
In mid-December, the AST publishing house announced that it would stop publishing books by Bykov, as well as Boris Akunin, another author who opposes the war. In its press release, the publisher noted “public statements by writers that have caused widespread public outcry.” General Director Pavel Grishkov did not specify which statements were being discussed, but added that they “require a legal assessment.” Shortly after this, the Read-Gorod bookstore chain announced that it was suspending sales of books by writers, explaining it in a similar way.
On December 11 and 13, pro-Kremlin pranksters Vovan and Lexus published their conversations with both writers. In them, bloggers pretended to be representatives of the Ukrainian administration. As Dozhd writes , in these videos both writers “reacted with understanding to the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ strikes on Russian territory, and Akunin clarified that he organized a fundraiser to help Ukraine.”
On January 25, a protocol was drawn up against Dmitry Bykov due to his participation in the video of Novaya Gazeta Europe with the title “About the new album, return to St. Petersburg and the role of Russia in history / Boris Grebenshchikov and Dmitry Bykov.” Bykov himself told the publication about this.
The administrative case was submitted to the Nikulinsky Court of Moscow.
- Since 2015, according to Russian legislation , foreign or international organizations that, in the opinion of the authorities, pose a “threat to the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation, the defense capability of the country or the security of the state” can be recognized as “undesirable.” From 2021, organizations that cooperate with already recognized “undesirables” are also recognized as “undesirable.” Such organizations are prohibited from operating in the country, and a number of other restrictions are also imposed on them - for example, they are not allowed to distribute information materials in Russia. The decision on recognition is made by the Prosecutor General's Office in agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As of August 2023, there are more than 100 undesirable organizations on the Ministry of Justice register .
- For participation in the activities of an “undesirable” organization, administrative liability is provided (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the maximum penalty is a fine of up to 15 thousand rubles for citizens), and with repeated participation, criminal liability (Part 1 of Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to four years). Article 284.1 also applies to financing or organizing the activities of an “undesirable” organization, in which case the punishment can be up to five and six years in prison, respectively.
- The legislation on “foreign agents” is becoming stricter every year. On December 1, 2022, the law “On control over the activities of persons under foreign influence” came into force, as well as numerous legislative amendments to “foreign agency” regulation. You can read about the list of “affiliated persons”, new registers and other innovations in the law on “foreign agents” in the analysis of OVD-Info .