What is Happening in Russia, Episode 1

Have you ever wondered what is truly happening in Russia?

This blog post will explore the latest Russian news and provide an insightful overview of the events in this country. The question of “what is happening in Russia” often arises, so we will make a few episodes with news from there.

1. A serviceman from the Belgorod region was sent to the frontline trench after he spoke about being redeployed to Eastern Ukraine with a shrapnel wound.

Alexander Bikulov from Starry Oskol in mid-July didn’t manage to visit a surgeon to get a certificate for release from service – the command stated that they would redeploy him to Eastern Ukraine again.

The soldier tried to prove that he couldn’t perform combat tasks due to his shrapnel injury and needed an operation. Despite this, he was “forced into the plane,” taken to Kursk and sent to the Luhansk region.

According to Alexander’s father, his son was “arrested in a dugout,” his phone was taken away after this situation became public. This information was reported to the family by Alexander’s fellow serviceman. Bikulov’s father demands his son’s release from the commanders.

He explained that Alexander volunteered to go to Eastern Ukraine as a medic before the mobilization, but “they assigned him to the mortar unit, although he had never seen a mortar in his life.”

Shortly after being deployed to the frontline, he suffered a severe injury, and a titanium rod was implanted into his hip bone. Now, he can’t run and needs a repeat operation.

2. In Moscow, a 17-year-old boy was arrested for preparing a terrorist attack on a gas pipeline facility.

The young man studied homemade explosive device manufacturing methods on the internet and maps showing the locations of gas pipeline facilities in the Moscow region. He then acquired components to manufacture explosive substances and prepared to detonate the gas pipeline facility.

A search was conducted at the boy’s apartment, and he was detained. A criminal case has been initiated against him for “preparation for a terrorist act.”

3. Founder of Russia’s largest cybersecurity company Group-IB, Ilya Sachkov, has been sentenced to 14 years for treason.

The Prosecutor General’s Office had requested an 18-year strict regime sentence for Sachkov. He stated that this number “did not stun him,” and previously, he implicated the head of the FSB’s Center for Information Security, Oleg Kashentsov, in his persecution, pointing out that the case was built on the testimony of Sergei Mikhailov, a former FSB officer, who had already been sentenced to 22 years for treason.

Group-IB is an international cybersecurity company engaged in cyber attacks and similar crime investigations. In 2022, it split into two brands: Group-IB, headquartered in Singapore, operates worldwide and collaborates with Interpol and OSCE, while F.A.C.C.T. collaborates with Russian corporations, government, and semi-governmental structures.

4. Servicemen from the Kamchatka region claimed they were transferred under the command of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), which plans to turn them into an assault unit and send them to fight alongside a unit of former prisoners.

According to the volunteers from the “Kamchatka” battalion, after undergoing training in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, they were taken to the Donetsk region and placed under the authority of the local command. However, their unit commanders remained in the Rostov region. Currently, the “new” command states that the men will serve as assault troops together with the “Storm Z” brigades (formed from former prisoners who signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense).

The servicemen complain that their military documents do not have any marks indicating their actual location. They demand to be returned to their original brigade and allowed to serve there. The men emphasize that they do not refuse to perform combat tasks. “Neither officially nor morally were we prepared to join ‘Storm Z,'” the men say.

5. However…In Moscow, a man threatened to carry out a terrorist attack because he was not accepted for military service in the Armed Forces.

The man came to the capital from Bashkortostan to enlist and join the combat zone. On July 4th, he attempted to enroll as a serviceman and go to war. Several times, the volunteer tried to undergo a medical examination. Still, he was denied due to his health condition, and he was not allowed to become a participant in the military conflict.

Feeling upset, the man called emergency services, stating that he was in the city center near Nikitskiye Vorota (Nikitskaya Gates). He threatened to detonate an explosive because he was not accepted for military service. After the call, the area was inspected, but nothing dangerous was found, and the caller was not present at the scene. An investigation is underway, and authorities are searching for the caller.

6.In Moscow, unknown assailants attacked DELO LGBT+ employees who had come for a hearing about blocking the “Center T”* website, a group that assists transgender and non-binary individuals.

Human rights activists were ambushed outside the court building where the first hearing on blocking the organization’s website occurred.

According to eyewitnesses, there were two attackers – a man with pepper spray and a girl with a baton. PR manager of DELO LGBT+ Robert Lebedev described the man as a person of Slavic appearance, approximately 20 years old, “resembling a skinhead.” As a result of the attack, seven activists and a taxi driver who was supposed to take them from the court were injured. The man sprayed one of the specialists from “Center T” directly in the face, while others were indirectly affected by the pepper spray. Human rights activists called the police and an ambulance, but the emergency services arrived after over half an hour.

Lawyer and psychiatrist Konstantin Boykov claim that some activists likely suffered eye and corneal burns. He explained that the activists had been waiting for the taxi on the street for about half an hour as they wanted to leave together and were waiting for a larger vehicle. During this time, the attackers waited for the activists to disperse. The “Center T” case hearing will most likely be postponed.

On Friday, amid the adoption of a law banning transgender people, “Center T” was recognized as a foreign agent.

7. In the Perm Krai, they bid farewell to 16-year-old Yaroslava Shikhova. She was raped, set on fire, and left to die on the railway tracks.

The Investigative Committee (SK) scheduled a meeting with residents who were dissatisfied with the investigation on the same day

On the morning of July 9th, a locomotive engineer found the injured schoolgirl near the village of Oktyabrsky, right on the railroad tracks. Before that, she had been spending time with three of her acquaintances. In the hospital, the girl managed to name the person who assaulted her, and he was subsequently arrested. However, doctors could not save the child, and on the morning of July 18th, Yaroslava succumbed to her injuries (90% of her body was burned). Residents, who formed an initiative group, have been critical of the course of the investigation from the very beginning. They claim three teenagers were involved in the girl’s death, but only one has been officially charged. They also state that two of the suspects have already left the region.

They believe that law enforcement is doing everything “to prevent people from speaking out” because one of the attackers is the son of a local official. Moreover, the SK scheduled the meeting with the initiative group on the day of the funeral, when most people bid farewell, and journalists were also not allowed to attend the meeting. As a result, the investigators received only three people, as reported by local media. “We will continue to file complaints against the local authorities’ work,” said one of the initiative group members.

Another activist, independently investigating Yaroslava’s murder, believes the local department has long discredited itself in such investigations. A petition from residents demanding “the strictest punishment under the law for all those guilty” has gathered over 24,000 signatures. The authors demand that the federal Investigative Committee control the case.

8. In the Arkhangelsk region, a native of Azerbaijan attacked a resident with a knife and fled the scene.

The assailant was supposed to be deported three years ago, but the police did not carry out the deportation. Now, a criminal case has been initiated against them.

The incident occurred near the Koryazhma shopping center on the night of July 15th. According to witnesses, 34-year-old Davud Aliyev was harassing a local girl when her husband approached. A fight ensued, and Davud pulled out a knife, striking his opponent four times. The man fell to the ground, and witnesses rushed to help him. The ambulance arrived, but Aliyev fled the scene, and authorities are still seeking him.

Yesterday, the case took a new turn: it turned out that Aliyev had been repeatedly charged with administrative offenses (mainly for traffic violations). Three years ago, he was sentenced to deportation, but he appealed the decision in court and then went into hiding. In his lawsuits, Aliyev claimed that he could not be deported to Azerbaijan due to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh (presumably, he feared conscription).

Last year, he was charged with illegal border crossing (Article 322 of the Criminal Code) and was put on the federal wanted list. The police caught him and drew up a protocol for violating migration rules, but the officers who were supposed to deport him did not do so for some reason. As a result, a criminal case for negligence (Article 293 of the Criminal Code) has been filed against them. They could face up to five years in prison (the specific identities of the law enforcement officials are yet to be established).

9.In Lyubertsy, a brother reported his sister to the police because she reads Ukrainian news.

Family disagreements over political views occurred between a brother and sister in Lyubertsy, a suburb of Moscow. 43-year-old Vitaliy K. reported his older sister, Oksana, to the authorities. The reason was her reading of Ukrainian news. The brother became concerned, concluding that his relative was under the influence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and might even be recruited by Ukrainian intelligence agencies.

“On the internet, she was browsing through their websites. To influence my sister and frighten her, I turned to the police, and it worked; she no longer reads those websites. I also took her phone, computer, and tablet. The police came, drew up a protocol, and everything has been fine since then,” Vitaliy explained.

10.In Moscow, a military serviceman who fled from the Armed Forces due to violence by his commander has been arrested.

32-year-old Alexander Z., a resident of the Orehovo-Borisovo district, was detained in Moscow after deserting from the Armed Forces. In July, he became a suspect in a criminal case for unauthorized abandonment of his military service, which could lead to up to 10 years in prison.

In conclusion, the current news coming out of Russia is nothing short of a horror. From accusations of election interference to human rights violations, Russia’s actions have garnered global attention and concern. It is crucial to stay informed about the situation in Russia, as it has far-reaching implications for both domestic and international affairs.