The Khabarovsk Regional Court did not agree with the termination of the case under Art. 20.3.1 Code of Administrative Offenses on anti-bourgeois song

Let us also recall that we generally advocate the exclusion of the unclear term “social group” from the rules on incitement to hatred precisely because of its broad interpretation.

On April 15, 2026, the Central District Court of Komsomolsk-on-Amur dismissed the case of Yuri Shcherbina under Art. 20.3.1 Code of Administrative Offenses (humiliation of human dignity based on membership in a social group). However, on June 3, the Khabarovsk Regional Court overturned the decision and sent the case for a new trial to the same court.

Claims from law enforcement agencies were caused by a song by the group “I.R.O.K.E.Z” called “Revolution”, which employees of the regional Center for Education and Ethics found on the page of student Shcherbina. In it, an expert from the ECC of the Ministry of Internal Affairs found a negative assessment of a group of people designated as the “bourgeoisie.”

The judge said there was no crime in this. She noted that the research certificate states that the bourgeoisie is “the ruling class of capitalist society, which is the owner of production and exists at the expense of the surplus value obtained as a result of the use of hired labor.” At the same time, the court emphasized, according to the Constitution, Russia is “a democratic federal legal state with a republican form of government,” and the concept of “bourgeoisie” “has no legislative or other normative support, it has only historical significance,” “there is no evidence of the existence of such a group of people as the “ruling class in a capitalist society,” and no evidence has been presented who is united in this group of people.”

The regional court did not agree with this, pointing to an incomplete analysis of the research certificate. At the same time, it is not clear from the ruling of the appellate court what specifically the district court did not take into account.

We believe that the bourgeoisie should not be considered a vulnerable social group, and expressing a negative attitude towards it, at least in a peaceful manner, should not be considered illegal. It can be assumed that, despite the revolutionary pathos, there were no calls for specific violent actions in the song - otherwise linguistic experts would have pointed them out. Let us also recall that we generally advocate the exclusion of the unclear term “social group” from the rules on incitement to hatred precisely because of its broad interpretation.

Sources

• Administrative violation case file No. 5-160/2026 // Central District Court of Khabarovsk. 2026. June 17.
• Administrative violation case file No. 12-133/2026 // Khabarovsk Regional Court. 2026. June 17.
• Administrative violation case file No. 5-99/2026 // Central District Court of Khabarovsk. 2026. June 16.