Anyone can become an extremist
Today is Safer Internet Day. It was established by the European Commission to inform people about online threats—cyberbullying, fraud, malicious content, etc.—and how to protect themselves from them.
In recent years, the Russian internet has, in addition to the universal dangers, developed its own, sovereign ones. While common sense can help combat scammers, dealing with "Comrade Major" can be much more difficult.
We've compiled a list of the main dangers facing Russians online.
1. Reposts and likes
In Russia, criminal and administrative cases can be initiated for
Reposts, saved images, and memes. This includes even posts from many years ago and deleted ones. There are also examples of prosecution for liking "criminal" posts. For example, a court in the Murmansk region fined pensioner Vasily Yovdiy for "discrediting" the army for liking a YouTube video.
2. According to Novaya Gazeta Evropa, Russian law enforcement agencies have opened over 30,000 criminal and administrative cases for publications, reposts, and "likes" on social media since 2010. Nearly 80% of administrative cases and 46% of criminal cases are related to VKontakte. A quarter of all criminal cases are related to Telegram messages.
Cases are most often opened on charges of “extremism” (Articles 280, 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and “fakes” about the Russian army (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
3. Search queries
Searching and confiscating phones at border crossings has become common practice, and recently, even in the metro. Law enforcement officials check browser history during phone searches, and searching, subscribing, or viewing content can be interpreted as "interest in extremism" or "dissemination."
Since December 2025, Article 13.53 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses—searching for "knowingly extremist content"—has been in effect. Two people have already been fined under this article: a resident of the Sverdlovsk region, who, according to investigators, searched for "Azov Brigade" online, and a resident of Chechnya, for unknown reasons.
4. Subscriptions and chats
Even without making public posts, a person can be accused of participating in an extremist group and disseminating prohibited information. Subscribing to "undesirable" channels, participating in closed chats, and forwarding messages to others can pose a danger. Cases are often built on messaging logs and denunciations.
5. Demonstrating affiliation with an "extremist" community is often sufficient for prosecution. According to Human Rights Watch, Russian courts have issued over 100 convictions for "extremism" for alleged participation in a non-existent "international LGBT movement" or displaying symbols attributed to it (such as the rainbow flag).
6. Denunciations and phone checks
Many cases begin not with monitoring, but with denunciations from colleagues or neighbors familiar with screenshots of personal correspondence. Often, a single request is enough for law enforcement to conduct an account audit, seize a phone, and summon a person for questioning. For example, the criminal prosecution of lawyer Dmitry Talantov began after blogger Roman Skomorokhov published screenshots of his posts on the website "Military Review" and promised to contact the Prosecutor General's Office and the FSB of Udmurtia.
Sometimes the reason for a denunciation is a personal conflict, and the accusation is based on the principle of “word against word.”
7. When checking documents, the police may demand that you unlock your phone, view your gallery, Telegram, or browser, find "suspicious content," and use it to draw up a report, initiate a case, or use pressure and blackmail.
The criteria for the legality of such inspections are extremely vague, and anyone who protests against them risks becoming a victim of police violence and being charged with a fabricated case.
