Following September's State Duma elections, left-wing politicians and activists in Russia attempted to organize rallies against alleged electoral fraud, but authorities refused to authorize demonstrations in many regions. Two prominent participants in the protest campaign, Dmitry Morozov from Izhevsk and Oleg Mikhailov from the Komi Republic, were detained in criminal cases formally unrelated to the organization of rallies. Their cases are examined in a Novaya Gazeta Europe investigation by journalist Boris Bogomilsky.
According to the newspaper, activists attempted to organize protest events in ten regions. In Moscow, officials cited coronavirus restrictions; in Tatarstan, they pointed to what they described as insufficiently specific demands by the participants. A demonstration went ahead in Syktyvkar.
The formal organizer of the Syktyvkar rally was former parliamentary candidate Vyacheslav Kochev. No more than 100 participants had been declared for the event, meaning that, under the applicable procedure, separate authorization was not required. However, law enforcement officers alleged that attendance exceeded the declared figure by ten people. An administrative offense report was drawn up against Kochev for violating the rules governing public events.
Oleg Mikhailov, a former Communist Party State Duma deputy who had supported the protest campaign, was subsequently detained at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport. On October 22, Moscow's Basmanny District Court ordered him held in pretrial detention on a charge of publicly justifying terrorism. According to his supporters, the case concerns a 2024 publication supporting sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky. The following day, Mikhailov was added to Russia's official list of terrorists and extremists.
In Izhevsk, activist Dmitry Morozov challenged the city administration's refusal to authorize a rally and secured a court ruling that the refusal was unlawful. Soon afterward, he was detained in a drug possession case. Investigators claim they found 1.38 grams of a synthetic narcotic substance during a search. Morozov and people close to him dispute the grounds for his prosecution.
Morozov's partner, Daria Bagina, alleged that he was beaten and subjected to electric shocks after his detention to force him to confess. These allegations have not been established by a court and require independent investigation. The court kept Morozov in custody despite defense requests for a less restrictive measure.
Novaya Gazeta Europe also described the detention of participants in an authorized Communist Party rally in Moscow on October 4. According to the party, 65 people were detained that day. They were subsequently released, and administrative offense reports were drawn up against some participants.
The newspaper compared these cases with the shrinking opportunities for public activity by opposition politicians. Some of its sources believe the prosecutions of Morozov and Mikhailov may be connected to their political activities. Formally, however, the charges were brought under other provisions of criminal law, and a political motive has not been established by a court.
The individual detentions and criminal cases had already been reported. The new investigation brings them together with details of regional protest campaigns, accounts from participants and responses from party organizations.