Russia is repressive. July 15-21, 2024.

Our site has been blocked, open it via VPN! Chronicle of repressions in Russia.

During the third week of July, Russian security forces opened at least 25 criminal cases, where, according to Avtozak LIVE, there is a political motive.

Recently we have seen an increase in the number of cases related to violence. Thus, over the past week, 12 cases were opened for violent acts, and 8 cases were opened for verbal statements or comments on the Internet.

It is important to note that attacks on government targets have resumed. In every known (4) case, criminal defendants have alleged telephone fraud.

There are 13 criminal cases related to the war.

July 15, 2024:

• In the occupied Zaporozhye region, Russian security forces detained two Ukrainian citizens - a man and a woman, their names have not been disclosed. They were accused of espionage. According to the investigation, the defendants in the case, on instructions from a representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, used the Internet messenger Telegram to transmit information about the locations of units of the Russian Armed Forces for the purpose of subsequently launching missile and bomb attacks on them. The Ukrainians were placed in a pre-trial detention center.

July 16, 2024:

• In Moscow, 68-year-old local resident Lyudmila was detained on Red Square. She wrote in white paint on the bas-relief of the monument to Minin and Pozharsky the word “GUR” - an abbreviation of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. During interrogation, the pensioner explained that a week before, she transferred more than 864 thousand rubles to telegram scammers. Later, an unknown person called her, introduced himself as a law enforcement officer and explained how to return the money - she needed to write the word “GUR” on the monument to Minin and Pozharsky. A criminal case was opened against a Muscovite for the destruction or damage of cultural heritage sites.
• In the city of Berdyansk in the occupied Zaporozhye region, a local 25-year-old resident was detained . A criminal case was opened against him for inciting hatred or enmity, committed with the threat of violence. According to the Russian security forces, the man, whose name has not been reported, published comments in the Telegram channel in May 2022 “containing signs of humiliation of human dignity towards Russian citizens, coupled with the threat of violence.”
• In the village of Berezovo near Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo region, two teenagers aged 13 and 15, in a state of alcoholic intoxication, destroyed the graves of participants in the war with Ukraine. The schoolchildren were detained. It is alleged that in total, the teenagers damaged 166 headstones. The Investigative Committee has begun a pre-investigation investigation into a criminal case regarding the destruction or damage of military graves. A report was drawn up against the father of one of the teenagers regarding the child’s consumption of alcoholic beverages.

July 17, 2024:

• A local resident was detained in Tomsk; his name was not disclosed. A criminal case was opened against him for repeated demonstration of extremist symbols. According to investigators, in April 2024, the man posted information material with the symbols of an extremist organization on his page on one of the social networks. What exactly the person involved in the case posted was not reported. At the request of the investigator, the court took the Tomsk resident into custody.
• In the city of Noginsk, Moscow Region, a 20-year-old local resident set fire to an official car on the territory of the local police department. No one was injured in the fire. The girl was immediately detained. A criminal case was opened against her for a terrorist attack. The court sent her to a pre-trial detention center.
• In Veliky Novgorod, a local resident, an employee of one of the military-industrial complex enterprises, was detained on charges of treason. According to security officials, the man, whose name has not been disclosed, allegedly contacted the Ukrainian project “I Want to Live” and handed over a photo of the police department and open data from 2GIS about the deployment of one of the military units. He also allegedly informed the “Ukrainian military intelligence officer who supervised him” information about his place of work, as well as the purpose and volume of products. The man was placed in a pre-trial detention center.
• At the Petelino station in the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region, at about three o'clock in the morning, an unknown person set fire to the rear cabin of an electric locomotive. The area of ​​the fire was 5 square meters; the fire was extinguished for almost half an hour by two fire crews. They are looking for the arsonist.
• Human rights activist, chairman of the organization “For Citizens” Vladimir Druz was detained in Irkutsk. He was accused of commercial bribery. According to investigators, Druz received money from developers for a promise not to sue them and to dissuade people who approached him from doing so. For this, the heads of two construction companies allegedly paid him more than two million rubles each.
• A 28-year-old blogger, a native of Dagestan, Javier Yarmagomedov, was detained in Moscow. A criminal case was opened against him for insulting the feelings of believers. The reason for the criminal prosecution was a live broadcast on July 12, 2024, during which the blogger trampled on a Christian cross.

July 18, 2024:

• In the city of Rezh, Sverdlovsk region, they searched the parents of Olga Romancheva, editor-in-chief of the publication Rezha News. A search was also carried out at the newspaper's editorial office, seizing the journalist's phone and the hard drive of her work computer. The search at the editorial office took place as part of a criminal case of slander against the city prosecutor of Rezh, Nikolai Udalov. In one of the articles, Rezha News accused him of inaction in connection with the purchase of municipal land by a local businessman without a competition and at a reduced price. After interrogation, Romancheva was left in the status of a witness.
• Local resident Maxim Grigoriev was detained in Moscow. He was accused of participating in an illegal armed group for purposes contrary to the interests of the Russian Federation. According to security officials, Grigoriev joined the Freedom of Russia Legion. Details of the charges are unknown. The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow chose a preventive measure for Grigoriev in the form of detention.
• In Izhevsk, a criminal case of high treason was opened against a local resident, her name has not been reported. According to the security forces, the woman “initiatively established contact with the Ukrainian special services and, on their instructions, collected and transmitted information about the objects of the military-industrial complex for the purpose of possible preparation of sabotage and terrorist acts.” The court chose a preventive measure for the woman in the form of detention.
• In the village of Chervonoye, Genichesk district of the occupied Kherson region, a local resident, a Russian citizen, was detained . He was accused of participating in an illegal armed group. According to Russian security forces, the man, whose name has not been disclosed, in 2016 voluntarily joined and took an active part in the activities of the Crimean Tatar Battalion named after. Noman Celebidzhikhan”, whose goals are to fight for the return of the peninsula to Ukraine. The person involved in the case allegedly transported members of the battalion to checkpoints on the border with Russia. He was placed in custody.
• In occupied Donetsk, Russian security forces detained a local resident, a Russian citizen. She was accused of preparing for a terrorist attack. According to investigators, the woman, whose name is not permitted, “trained by Ukrainian curators,” was going to set fire to the building of the Petrovsky District Court of Donetsk for a monetary reward. After the terrorist attack, she allegedly intended to leave for Ukraine “to join the ranks of a terrorist organization.” The person involved in the case was placed in custody.
• In the Primorsky Territory, a criminal case was opened for “calls for terrorist activities” against a 59-year-old local resident, his name has not been reported. According to investigators, on July 30, 2023, the man posted a “call for terrorist activity” in the chat of an open Telegram channel. What exactly the man wrote is unknown. The court chose a preventive measure for the Primorye resident in the form of detention.
• In Kostroma, a woman threw a bottle of gasoline into a building on Pyatnitskaya Street, which houses a selection point for contract military service. The fire was quickly extinguished by military personnel; no one was injured. The woman was immediately detained. She was reportedly under the influence of scammers who called her. The details of the charges and the preventive measure chosen for her are unknown.

July 19, 2024:

• In the city of Cherkessk, Karachay-Cherkess Republic, they searched the house of the parents of activist, leader of the “Circassian Congress” Kase Kika. The security forces took away their phones. It is unknown what the search was connected with. In April, Kik signed an appeal from leaders of the Circassian diaspora abroad demanding the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine and the restoration of the internationally recognized borders of 1991. The authors of the document appealed to the Circassians living in Russia with a request not to participate in the war. Kase Kik himself left Russia in May 2022 after he was tortured by Center E and the FSB. The reason for his arrest was that he asked to play a song in Ukrainian in a cafe. During the beating at the police station, security forces asked the man questions about his connections with Ukraine and called him “an agent of Zelensky and a Ukrofashist.”
• A 29-year-old local resident, a citizen of Ukraine, was detained in the occupied Luhansk region; his name has not been reported. A criminal case was opened against the man for participation in a terrorist community. According to Russian security officials, the person involved in the case at the end of 2019 signed a contract to serve in the Aidar assault battalion, recognized in Russia as a terrorist community. The court placed the Ukrainians in custody.
• In the Kaluga region, a 31-year-old local resident (his name has not been reported) came to the military registration and enlistment office building located on Pole Svobody Street and set fire to a pyrotechnic device in the lobby. There were 4 salvos in total. People hearing sounds similar to explosions began to panic and hide in their offices. Everyone was evacuated through the emergency exit. No one was hurt. The man was immediately detained . During interrogation, the Kaluga resident said that he had become a victim of scammers. He was forced to take out several loans, after which he promised to return the money if he caused an explosion in the military registration and enlistment office building. The man was accused of attempted murder of more than two persons in a generally dangerous manner. The court sent him into custody.
• In Tambov, the former coordinator of Alexei Navalny’s headquarters, Diana Rudakova, was put on the wanted list. It is unknown under what specific crime she is wanted. Rudakova herself suggested that criminal prosecution may be related to failure to fulfill the duties of a “foreign agent.”
• In the city of Nartkala, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, a criminal case was opened to justify “terrorism” against a local 30-year-old resident. The reason for the criminal prosecution was comments in a telegram chat for 100 people, in which the man allegedly “discredited” the security forces of Nalchik and justified the militants’ attack on the city’s security forces in 2005. What exactly the man wrote in the comments is unknown. During the investigation, the person involved in the case was given a written undertaking not to leave the place.

July 20, 2024:

• At the railway station near the village of Amerevo in the Kolomensky district of the Moscow region on the night of July 20, 2024, an unknown person broke into two relay cabinets and then set them on fire. One cabinet burned out completely, the second did not ignite. A few hours later, security forces detained 24-year-old Kolomna resident Maxim S. on charges of arson. A criminal case was opened against him for a terrorist attack committed by a group of people by prior conspiracy. The court sent the man to a pre-trial detention center.
• A 56-year-old local resident, Svetlana, was detained in Moscow; her last name has not been reported. Passengers on the train who were traveling with her in the same carriage complained about the woman. On Svetlana’s shoulder blade they noticed a butterfly “with Nazi elements on the wings,” the coat of arms of Ukraine on her back and a flag on her forearm. The Muscovite was wearing open clothes. A criminal case was opened against Svetlana for repeated public display of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols. The court placed her in custody.
• In St. Petersburg, at about four o'clock in the afternoon, a 76-year-old pensioner approached the military registration and enlistment office on Sizova Avenue, 24, and threw a Molotov cocktail onto the porch. The fire did not spread beyond the concrete steps. Later that evening, the pensioner was detained. During interrogation, the man said that he had become a victim of scammers - first, he was defrauded of 200 thousand from his account and 150 thousand rubles in cash, and later he received a new call with an offer to return the lost funds.