The case of a Kamchatka resident about discrediting the army and inciting hatred was brought to court

Judging by the available information, those accused under Art. 280.3 and 282 of the Criminal Code became 41-year-old Vasily Galagan.

On May 28, 2026, the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Court of the Kamchatka Territory registered a criminal case against a local resident who is accused under Part 1 of Art. 280.3 of the Criminal Code (repeated discrediting of the Russian army) and clause “a”, part 1, art. 282 of the Criminal Code (incitement of hatred and enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity, committed using the Internet after bringing to administrative responsibility).

The name of the accused is hidden from the card. Presumably, the person involved in the case was 41-year-old resident of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Vasily Galagan. In 2025, the same court imposed four fines on him in administrative cases - in July, Galagan was found guilty of inciting hatred and enmity (Article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code) due to comments about natives of the Caucasus and Central Asia, and in September - under three protocols on discrediting the army (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) due to criticism of Russian military personnel on social networks.

What exactly became the reason for the criminal prosecution of Galagan is not yet known. On April 18, 2026, the department of the Investigative Committee for the Kamchatka Territory reported on the selection of a preventive measure for the person involved in the case under the same articles. The press release stated that the accused was sent to a pre-trial detention center. The case itself is related to publications that, according to investigators, were aimed at “undermining trust in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and state bodies of Russia” and at “inciting interethnic and interreligious hatred, as well as humiliating the dignity of citizens on the basis of nationality, language and origin.” On May 13, Galagan’s data was added to the list of extremists and terrorists.

From our point of view, the introduction into legislation of a ban on discrediting the actions of the Russian armed forces and government agencies abroad was an unjustified restriction of the right to freedom of expression, designed to suppress criticism of the political course of the authorities. Therefore, we consider prosecution under the relevant articles for statements that do not contain direct calls for violence to be unlawful. Assess the legality of prosecution under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code, we cannot due to lack of information - for more information about the problem of assessing such cases, see here . At the same time, it should be noted that the fine imposed on Galagan under Art. 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for xenophobic statements, we do not classify them as unlawful.

Sources

• Criminal case card No. 1-437/2026 // Petropavlovsk-https://t.me/suskr41/5627 Kamchatka City Court of the Kamchatka Territory. 2026. May 28.
• ⚡️⚡️⚡️In Kamchatka, at the request of the investigation, a preventive measure was chosen for a person involved in a criminal case // Investigative Committee of Kamchatka. Telegram. 2026. May 18.
• Card of the case of administrative offense No. 5-257/2025 // // Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Court of the Kamchatka Territory. 2025. November 17.
• Card of the case of administrative offense No. 5-258/2025 // // Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Court of the Kamchatka Territory. 2025. November 17.
• Card of the case of administrative offense No. 5-259/2025 // // Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Court of the Kamchatka Territory. 2025. November 17.
• Administrative violation case file No. 5-236/2025 // Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Court of the Kamchatka Territory. 2025. October 25.