July 30: Lev Shlosberg celebrates his 63rd birthday in pretrial detention
On July 30, 1963, Lev Shlosberg, a public and political figure, human rights activist, and one of the leaders of the Yabloko party, was born in Pskov to a family of teachers. He celebrated his 63rd birthday in a pretrial detention center.
If children need to be taught to love their homeland, then the homeland doesn't love its children.
Teacher, publisher, Pskov "Yabloko"
Shlosberg graduated from the history department of the Pskov Pedagogical Institute. He worked as a preschool teacher and educator at a vocational school. From 1985 to 1987, he served in the missile forces in the Transcaucasus, near Tbilisi.
In the 1990s, he opened the Vozrozhdenie Social Project Center and founded the non-governmental Pskov Free Institute. In 1996, he headed the regional branch of Yabloko and served as chairman of the Pskov Civic Chamber.
In the early 2000s, Shlosberg began publishing the regional public newspaper "Pskovskaya Guberniya." Among its most high-profile publications was an investigation into the deaths of Pskov paratroopers in Ukraine in 2014. Following this publication, Shlosberg was beaten by three unknown assailants.
"A vile and barbaric law"
Since 1995, Lev Schlossberg has run for the Yabloko party in every State Duma election. He became a prominent figure in federal politics in 2012. Then, he was the only member of the Pskov Legislative Assembly to speak out against the "Dima Yakovlev Law," which banned American citizens from adopting children from Russia. Schlossberg called the law "vile" and "horrific." A video of his speech was viewed by nearly 150 people.
We are offered to get involved in this matter
Anyone who voted for this law becomes guilty of the death of a child that the domestic system failed to treat. Participation in this vile act is a lifelong commitment.
Refusal of registration and loss of mandate
In 2014, Shlosberg was denied registration for the Pskov Oblast gubernatorial election, allegedly due to a lack of signatures, access to which had been blocked by "spoiler" candidates. He was twice elected to the Pskov Regional Assembly of Deputies.
In 2015, he was stripped of his mandate for a formal reason—due to his participation in a court case challenging the inclusion of the Vozrozhdenie Center on the "foreign agent" registry. Shlosberg himself considered this revenge for his "wars" with Pskov Region Governor Andrei Turchak, now head of the Altai Republic.
In 2019, after the adoption of the law on disrespect for authority, he proposed a "mirror" bill to punish deputies for disrespecting citizens.
Russia's former chief sanitary doctor, Mr. Onishchenko, advised pensioners to limit their food intake, as it promotes better health. "Eat less," said Mr. Onishchenko, who earns several million rubles a year. And remember his other wonderful quotes? "The state didn't ask your parents to give birth to you," "you only look prettier for 1500 rubles," and "pasta is cheap everywhere."
War, "foreign agents" and criminal cases
In 2021, Lev Shlosberg was fined for organizing a protest in support of Alexei Navalny in Pskov. Six months later, he was barred from running in the State Duma elections due to his "involvement in the activities of the Anti-Corruption Foundation."
In February 2022, he condemned the war in Ukraine. Later, he criticized émigrés who supported the Ukrainian Armed Forces' invasion of Russian border regions.
Russia is a country perfectly prepared for fascism
The people of war prevailed over the people of peace in Russia
In June 2023, Shlosberg was added to the list of "foreign agents." In October 2024, his home and that of his 95-year-old father were searched in connection with a criminal case for evading their duties as a "foreign agent." In July 2024, he was fined for "discrediting" the army for reposting a video message by Arnold Schwarzenegger, released in March 2022.
In the summer of 2025, a second criminal case was opened against Shlosberg for discrediting the army again. According to investigators, he posted a video on Odnoklassniki featuring a debate between himself and historian Yuri Pivovarov. Shlosberg insisted he did not post the video and does not maintain an account on the social network.
In December 2025, a third criminal case was opened – under the article on "fake news about the army." Shlosberg was accused of reposting a publication on a Telegram channel in February 2022, although the corresponding article in the Criminal Code was not introduced until March 2022. He has been in pretrial detention since then. In June 2026, the Pskov City Court began hearing his combined criminal case.
