Blogger Ilya Remeslo has been detained in connection with a case involving ‘fake news’ about the Russian army
This has been reported by Reuters. According to the agency, news of the arrest was first reported by the Russian state news agency TASS and was subsequently confirmed by Ilya Remeslo’s lawyer.
According to his lawyer, Remesla was detained in St Petersburg and is being taken to Moscow, where investigators will carry out procedural actions and the Basmanny District Court will determine his pre-trial detention measures. During the search, security forces also searched his flat.
Criminal proceedings have been opened under Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — concerning the dissemination of allegedly false information regarding the Russian army. The maximum penalty under this article is up to ten years’ imprisonment.
It has not yet been officially disclosed which specific posts formed the basis for the case. At the same time, Russian media claim that the investigation is linked to his latest posts on Telegram.
From Kremlin propagandist to critic of Putin
Ilya Remeslo was known for many years as one of the most active pro-Kremlin bloggers and lawyers. He repeatedly filed complaints against members of the Russian opposition, notably Alexei Navalny, and claimed that it was his complaints that formed the basis for the opening of criminal cases against the politician.
In March 2026, Remeslo unexpectedly did an about-turn. He published a manifesto entitled ‘Five Reasons Why I Have Stopped Supporting Vladimir Putin’, in which he accused the Russian president of waging war against Ukraine, ruining the economy, and censoring and suppressing the opposition.
Following this, the blogger was placed in a psychiatric hospital for almost a month. Upon his release, he stated that he was not retracting his criticism of the Kremlin, although he acknowledged that it had had serious consequences for him.
On the eve of his arrest, he predicted Putin’s loss of power
The day before his detention, Remeslo published a new post in which he stated that Vladimir Putin’s position was rapidly deteriorating due to the energy crisis and conflicts within the Russian elite.
He claimed that even a “minor jolt” could lead to Putin losing power in the very near future. It was following these statements that the security forces detained the blogger.
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