Political science student Harry Azaryan, who was accused of publicly justifying terrorism, was released from a pre-trial detention center under a ban on certain actions. This is reported by his support group. Azaryan was arrested in May last year. As Mediazona learned, the reason for the persecution was the speech of a 23-year-old activist at a meeting of St. Petersburg leftists, whom the security forces consider members of the Workers' Power organization.

The Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued a press release in which it accused the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew of “schismatic activities” with the support of British intelligence services.

The Russian Ministry of Defense named the Lvov State Aviation Repair Plant as the target of the Oreshnik strike on Ukraine on the night of January 9. A message about this was published on the department’s website. The Ministry of Defense, citing “several independent sources,” claims that the plant was successfully hit. According to the department, the strike damaged production workshops, warehouses with finished products and the infrastructure of the factory airfield.

The 1st Western District Military Court in St. Petersburg began to consider the merits of the case of 38-year-old Anna Osipova under the article on a terrorist attack that caused significant property damage (clause “c” of Part 2 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code) due to the arson of a police department. Mediazona became aware of this. Anna Osipova worked as a clerk at Petrovsky College before her arrest; she is married and has a daughter born in 2017.

In Samara, 43-year-old Colonel Sergei Karasev has been appointed deputy mayor, according to the website of the “Time of Heroes” program for retraining military personnel as officials. In 2023, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine accused him of committing war crimes, and the publication “7x7” drew attention to this. It is clarified that in his new position in Samara, Karasev will oversee issues of supporting participants in the war with Ukraine and their families.

An employee of the Russian embassy died in Cyprus, the diplomatic mission reported . ANT1 TV channel claims that he committed suicide. The embassy indicated that the diplomat died on January 8. The Russian mission gave only his last name and initials - A.V. Panov. “His death is a deeply personal tragedy for his family and friends. The family of the deceased was provided with all the necessary assistance and support,” the diplomatic mission reported.

Cyprus police are searching for a Russian businessman, former general director of Uralkali, Vladislav Baumgertner, who disappeared in Limassol. This is reported on the department's website. Baumgaertner, 53, disappeared on January 7, police said. Philenews writes that the businessman’s disappearance was reported by his employee when Baumgertner stopped answering calls.

The Dossier Center, together with the Norwegian publication NRK, published an investigation that refers to the presence of two Russians with experience serving in the special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and the Wagner PMC on board the Qendil tanker, which participated in the transportation of Russian oil to India.

The administration of the Petrogradsky district of St. Petersburg prohibited the flower shop August Flowers from using bagels in its decoration, store employees reported on its Instagram. “Paper” drew attention to this. “They wrote a complaint against us to the government of St. Petersburg. You'll never guess - for bagels.

In the city of Chusovoy, Perm Territory, with the support of the Russian Guard, a man was detained on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack on a railway bridge. According to the official website of the FSB, 10 kilograms of explosives were found on him. The detainee is a Russian born in 1972. According to the FSB, the man became a victim of telephone scammers and transferred 350 thousand rubles to so-called “safe accounts”.

Chelyabinsk security forces accused 65-year-old environmental activist Nadezhda Vertyakhovskaya of slandering a judge; the case against her was filed in the Central District Court of Chelyabinsk at the end of December 2025. Vertyakhovskaya spoke about her persecution in the telegram channel of human rights activist Vladimir Kazantsev, who died in a colony, and the telegram channel “Chelyabinsk of the Future” drew attention to her posts.

The Investigative Committee announced a criminal case against stand-up comedian Artemy Ostanin under the article of inciting hatred or hostility on March 15, 2025. The occasion was a monologue about a legless man in the subway, with whom he performed at a recording of a show for Channel Three, associated with the Moscow Stand-Up Club No. 1. “I walked in the transition and didn’t touch anyone. I feel like my foot is being stepped on.