Yegor Zhukov, a student at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, was detained on Aug. 2 on suspicion of “mass unrest,” a crime punishable with up to eight years in prison, after he took part in Moscow’s mass opposition protest on July 27.
Zhukov’s classmates say he has been targeted for openly showing his opinion on the current situation in Russia on his political YouTube channel, which has more than 100,000 subscribers.
Zhukov has seen a wave of support from his university and fellow students alike. HSE students have picketed and fundraised more than 1 million rubles ($15,000) for his legal fees. Three of his schoolmates were detained on Aug. 5 in Moscow for holding pickets in his support.
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