Poem in support of Ukraine – “inciting hatred and enmity”

Alexander Byvshev, a rural teacher from Orlov region, posted his poem “To Ukrainian patriots” on social media. The teacher suffered harassment, and the Office of the Public Prosecutor brought a criminal case against him on the grounds of “inciting hatred and enmity”. Byvshev faces four years imprisonment.

Collage in support of Ukraine – “promotion of fascist symbolism”

Ksenya Sergeyeva, a political activist from Novgorod, posted this collage on her homepage on social media. She was accused of “promoting fascist symbolism with the Russian flag in the background”. A criminal case has been brought against Sergeyeva, and she faces four years in prison.

Materials about actions in defence of political prisoners – “Calls for participation in illegal actions”

Since 13th March, Russian internet providers have blocked access to the websites Grani.ru, Ej.ru, Kasparov.ru, and to opposition member Alexei Navalny’s blog. The Office of the Public Prosecutor judged that these websites contain calls for participation in unlawful actions. The single specific example given by Public Prosecution staff and Roskomnadzor was the publication of an…

Article on the sacking of gay teachers – “non-traditional sexual relations propaganda”

A court in Khabarovsk fined the editor-in-chief of the “Young Far-Easterner” newspaper, Alexander Suturin, for “propaganda for non-traditional sexual relationships amongst minors”. An action was brought in connection with the publication of an article about the teacher and gay activist Alexander Yermoshkin, who was sacked in response to pressure from religious and right-wing radical organisations.

“Pussy Riot Icon” – “insult to the feelings of believers”

“Pussy Riot Icon” is a work created by artists Maria Kiselyova and Artyom Loskutov in support of the arrested performers of the punk-prayer at the Church of Christ the Saviour in 2012. Loskutov was fined for selling t-shirts with this design. In 2013, the website Grani.Ru received two warnings from Roscomnadzor for publishing information about…

Dumb ways to die video – “Suicide propaganda”

The famous Metro Trains Melbourne video is an advert about behaving safely on public transport. In Russia the clip has been blocked on the orders of Roscomnadzor, which considered it to be suicide propaganda.