Support The Moscow Times!

Vkontakte User Charged

An 18-year-old resident of the Marii-El republic was charged with extremism for creating a Vkontakte group promoting violence against police, news agencies reported Friday, citing rights group Agora.

Alexander Domrachyov called his group "Bash the Cops!!! Save Russia!!!" paraphrasing an old anti-Semitic slogan that listed Jews instead of law enforcement officers, and posted unspecified materials "fanning hate toward police," investigators said.

He faces four years in jail over the incident, the report said. No date for the hearing was set.

No group created by Domrachyov could be found on Vkontakte.ru over the weekend, but there were plenty of similarly titled groups on the network, which has more than 100 million registered users, Lenta.ru said.

(MT)

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more