Russia is repressive. August 26 - September 1, 2024.

Over the last week of August, Russian security forces opened at least 17 criminal cases, where, according to Avtozak LIVE, there is a political motive.

Because of the war in Ukraine, security forces opened 13 cases. The defendants in at least 8 criminal cases are being prosecuted for their words; in another 5 cases, according to the security forces, the defendants committed violent acts.

In addition, one case was opened under extremist charges due to connections with Alexei Navalny’s organizations.

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This digest was prepared based on the database of our project “If there were no war.”

If you find an error or know information about other criminal cases, write to our telegram bot.

August 26, 2024:

• In Moscow, the Basmanny District Court arrested 26-year-old Alexandra Frolova in absentia. A criminal case was opened against her for “participation in an extremist community.” Details of the charges are unknown. Frolova does not live in Russia and works as a creator on Navalny’s team - her responsibilities include content and special projects. The girl is also wanted.
• In Ufa, several children used flammable liquid to set fire to the Avdon railway platform on the Dema-Zhukovo section. Police officers discovered the actions of the teenagers while monitoring Telegram, where a video recording of the arson of a bus stop was published. The police identified two minors - they turned out to be residents of the village of Zhukovo, Ufa district and the village of Alkino, Chishminsky district. During interrogation, the teenagers allegedly explained that they spilled flammable liquid on the platform for hooligan reasons and then set it on fire, after which the grass nearby caught fire.
• In Moscow, the FSB detained two Colombian citizens, Jose Arona Aranda Medina and Alexander Ante. During the search, the detainees were allegedly found and confiscated documents confirming that they had participated in hostilities against the Russian Federation on the side of Ukraine, as well as a Ukrainian-style military uniform with insignia of the Carpathian Sich battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Colombians were accused of being mercenaries. The Lefortovo District Court of Moscow sent the men under arrest.
• In the Kurgan region, a 23-year-old local resident was detained on charges of treason. The name of the person involved in the case is not reported. According to security officials, the man was recruited by Ukrainian military intelligence in 2023. For a monetary reward, he collected and transmitted information about the locations and number of military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces in the Northern Military District zone. The Kurgan City Court chose a preventive measure in the form of detention for the person involved in the case.
• In Omsk, a local 40-year-old resident was detained on charges of treason. According to the security forces, the man, whose name has not been reported, collected and transferred information, photo and video materials about the production activities of one of the defense enterprises in the Omsk region to the Ukrainian special services. The Central District Court of Omsk placed the person involved in the case into custody.

August 27, 2024:

• A 32-year-old local resident was detained in Tambov. According to the security forces, the man, whose name is not reported, entered into correspondence with an unidentified person, during which he received an assignment to commit sabotage on the railway transport infrastructure of the Tambov region for a monetary reward. To do this, he bought an incendiary mixture and also studied routes to the objects to damage them. A criminal case was opened against the Tambov resident for preparation for sabotage. The court sent the man to a pre-trial detention center.

August 28, 2024:

• In Kaluga, local 21-year-old resident Andrei Epifanov was detained on charges of justifying terrorism. The reason for the criminal prosecution was a comment about the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Siberian Battalion under a video on YouTube. Before a preventive measure was taken, the man was placed in a temporary detention center. On August 30, the court sent Epifanov into custody.
• In Feodosia, annexed Crimea, FSB officers detained a local 37-year-old resident, his name has not been released. The man was accused of public calls for extremist activities made using the Internet. According to Russian investigators, the Crimean citizen, being an active participant in Ukrainian chats on Telegram, publicly supported “oppression on the basis of nationality of Russians living in other countries.”
• In the city of Slantsy, Leningrad Region, security forces detained a local resident on charges of justifying terrorism; his name has not been reported. According to investigators, between November 2022 and May 2023, the detainee left “at least five” comments. The man “wrote about the ‘victories of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’ and spoke positively about terrorists on social networks.” The man was taken into custody.
• At least three men were detained in the Kursk region. According to the FSB, they were planning an explosion on the territory of a local oil storage facility. They moved around the territory of the Kursk region in a civilian car. Explosives and detonators were found on them. One of the detainees allegedly spoke about plans to commit a terrorist attack.
• In Mariupol, occupied Zaporozhye region, they came to search the house of a local resident, her name was not reported. The woman was accused of facilitating terrorist activities. According to Russian security officials, the person involved in the case in June-July 2023 became a member of a certain terrorist community created in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “with the aim of destabilizing the activities of Russian authorities and intimidating the population.” The woman “repeatedly transferred funds to one of the accomplices to commit terrorist acts on the territory of the Russian Federation.” The court chose a preventive measure for the resident of Mariupol in the form of detention.
• In St. Petersburg, Anastasia Sokolenko-Kalinina, a journalist for the Ladoga.ru publication, was forcibly hospitalized in a psychoneurological dispensary. The reason for hospitalization was a quarrel with her mother, whom Sokolenko-Kalinina came to visit. They got into an argument about politics. The woman’s mother called the police, who forcibly took Anastasia to a psychoneurological dispensary. Anastasia's mother claims that her daughter stabbed her twice with a blunt knife during an argument. The detainee’s husband, Alexander Sokolenko-Kalinin, believes that the pressure on his wife is related to the upcoming municipal elections in St. Petersburg. The man himself is nominated for deputy in the People's District, and Anastasia Sokolenko-Kalinina acts as his confidant.
• In Samara, they came to search the house of local social activist and blogger Alina Lushavina. 20 masked people attacked the girl right at the entrance, one of them hit her. A criminal case was opened against Lushavina for “justifying terrorism.” The reason for criminal prosecution was the repost of a certain text related to the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall. On August 29, 2024, the court chose a preventive measure for Alina Lushavina in the form of detention.

August 29, 2024:

• In Samara, a criminal case was opened for insulting the feelings of believers against the owners of the Sushkin son restaurant chain. Probably one of the defendants in the case is the owner of the restaurant, Aram Petrosyan. According to investigators, the creators of “Sushkin son” “use religious symbols and associations in the name and interior design of establishments, thereby violating the moral, ethical and ethical standards of believers” - it is alleged that the name of the restaurant plays on the expression “son of a bitch” - which, together with the image of the Virgin Mary placed in the dining room, “gives very clear associations.”
• In Vladivostok at 1:30 am, 22-year-old local resident Mikhail tried to set fire to the military registration and enlistment office on the street. Uzbekskoy, 13a, responsible for the Pervomaisky and Pervorechensky districts of the city. The man threw two Molotov cocktails into the building, but no fire occurred. The Primorye resident was detained , after which he was taken to the city police department. During the search, two bottles of flammable liquid and a gas pistol were found on him.

August 31, 2024:

• In St. Petersburg, a criminal case was opened against a local resident, a citizen of Tajikistan, who worked as a courier for a delivery service, for calling for extremist activities. According to investigators, in the fall of 2022, a man posted publications in one of the Telegram channels “containing calls to commit violent actions against law enforcement officers of the Russian Federation in order to obstruct their legal activities.”
• In Moscow, 27-year-old Dmitry D. was detained . He was accused of setting fire to a railway post on the Khimki-Skhodnya section of the Oktyabrskaya Railway, which occurred on August 23. During interrogation, the man said that he was pushed into committing a crime by an unknown person who introduced himself as an “FSB employee.” He promised Dmitry that his debts to the bank would be written off for setting fire to the power grid post.