Press Release, 20.08.2024

Photo: Nikolai Kavkazsky outside the Basmanny Court, 2022 / Photo from Nikolai Kavkazsky’s personal archive

The Basmanny Court of Moscow sentenced Nikolai Kavkazsky to a fine of 2,000 roubles under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (“propaganda or public demonstration of Nazis’ symbols or the symbols of other extremist organisations”). The case was filed because of Kavkazsky mentioning Smart Voting on his personal page on VKontakte social media. Kavkazsky links the case opened against him with the Moscow City Duma elections, in which he did not plan to participate. In 2022, Kavkazsky served a ten-day arrest under the same article, which further led to a prohibition for him to run in the municipal elections.

“I was convicted for a post about [Alexei Navalny’s] Smart Voting, which I have a negative attitude towards. In accordance with the note to Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, this makes grounds for acquittal under this article. We don’t have the full text of the court decision yet, they will give it to us later. We will appeal the court’s decision,” Kavkazsky commented.

It should be noted that in 2022, eleven Yabloko candidates in Moscow were fined under administrative article 20.3 (“demonstration of extremist symbols”), which deprives them for 12 months of their right to run in elections and be elected. In 2023, two candidates in Veliky Novgorod were fined under the same article.