Blogger Alexander Nozdrinov, known as “Sanya Novokubansk,” sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, was transferred to colony No. 9 in the Krasnodar Territory in Khadyzhensk. This was reported by the project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial".
On September 29, 2023, the Novokubansky District Court of the Krasnodar Territory found the blogger guilty under the article on “fakes” for mercenary reasons and motivated by political hatred (paragraphs “d” and “d”, part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code); in February, the verdict was confirmed . According to investigators, Nozdrinov published a photograph of a destroyed multi-story building with the caption “Ukrainian cities after the arrival of the liberators” and received a thousand rubles for the publication. As the defendant’s wife said in an interview with SOTAvision, the man did not speak publicly on the topic of the war in Ukraine and he had such a post.
At the end of March 2022, Nozdrinov and two other residents of the Krasnodar Territory were searched due to publications in the blogger’s Telegram channel. Later, the court placed him in a pre-trial detention center.
Alexander Nozdrinov led channels on Telegram and YouTube called “Sanya Novokubansk” (now the YouTube channel is called “Xays Russia!”). In them, he criticized the actions of the security forces, and especially the traffic police officers. In particular, the blogger regularly talked about corruption at the Uspensky traffic police post (Caucasus highway). In 2020, investigators detained a group of police officers associated with this post in a number of criminal cases.
- In May 2023, the blogger’s wife Ekaterina Nozdrinova was searched, and a criminal case was opened against her for fraud in the field of lending (Article 159.1 of the Criminal Code). The order to search the woman's home was issued by the judge who is considering her husband's case. Nozdrinova believes that the criminal case against her is another tool of pressure on her husband.
- Since February 24, 2022—the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been holding anti-war protests every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 900 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .
- Article 207.3 (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 - in this way the authorities responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that does not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under this article is 15 years in prison.