Press Release, 13.04.2026

Photo: Anatoly Nogovitsyn / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

The leader of Yabloko in Yakutia, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, has been fined 10,000 roubles under the article on cooperation with an “undesirable” organisation (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The prosecution was triggered by reposts that had previously been deleted from Nogovitsyn’s social media accounts. Non-functioning links to these reposts were nonetheless included in the report drawn up by the Interior Ministry (Centre E – Centre for Counteraction to Extremism of the Interior Minitry).

Anatoly Nogovitsyn, leader of Yakutia Yabloko, reported the court ruling in his Telegram channel on 13 April.

“Last summer I was already prosecuted under Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences for a repost, I was fined 5,000 roubles,” Nogovitsyn recalled. “I naturally appealed the ruling. The Supreme Court [of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia)] rejected the appeal; the case is currently considered by the Ninth Court of Cassation. This year brings a new case under the same article, despite the fact that I deleted all reposts from my channel back in 2025. Only publications linked to Yabloko party structures remain […]. Despite this, the Centre for Counteraction to Extremism cooked up screenshots and cited broken links in their reports: one leads to my channel, the other leads nowhere at all.”

The case should have collapsed in court, but the Judge of the Yakutsk City Court ruled in favour of the Interior Ministry. The ruling is riddled with violations, the leader of Yakutia Yabloko emphasises:

• Nogovitsyn’s statements made in court have been entirely misrepresented (the reposts had been deleted in advance, but the court ruling states that they were only deleted after the case materials had been reviewed);
• a finding of guilt has been made on the basis of assumption;
• the fact that the links to the reposts are non-functioning has been disregarded;
• the non-functioning links are explicitly described as functioning;
• video evidence admitted to the case has been disregarded;
• a request for evidence to be subpoenaed was unlawfully refused;
• Nogovitsyn’s procedural position has been misrepresented (one motion was presented as another);
• the ruling refers to Nogovitsyn having been prosecuted under this article “on multiple occasions,” which does not correspond to the facts.

The leader of Yakutia Yabloko connects the prosecution to the forthcoming elections and emphasises that he intends to appeal the ruling issued by the Judge of the Yakutsk City Court.