Press Release, 13.05.2026

Photo: Tatyana Fyodorova / Photo by Pskov Yabloko

The Pskov City Court has fined Tatyana Fyodorova, a lecturer and member of the Bureau of Pskov Yabloko, 1,000 roubles under the article on the so-called displaying of “extremist symbols” (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The ruling was handed down on 7 May 2026. It concerns a repost on VKontakte of a 2017 publication by the Pskov News Feed. One of the four photographs in the post shows a single person picket featuring a structure on which there is a photograph of Alexei Navalny, that is, the photograph was published long before the politician was added to the register of terrorists and extremists.

Tatyana Fyodorova did not admit guilt and did not accept the finding of a violation. The court was not persuaded by the fact that the Moscow City Court had designated Navalny’s Headquarters (the movement has been designated as extremist and its activities are banned in the Russian Federation) as an extremist organisation only in 2021.

The court ruling of 7 May contains numerous typographical errors and inaccuracies: in particular, the social network VKontakte is referred to as “VKontanke”; no link is provided to the post that gave rise to the fine; and a separate paragraph of the document concerns Pskov Yabloko Chairman Artur Gaiduk and a photograph on Odnoklassniki for which an analogous record of an administrative offence had previously been drawn up against him.

It should be noted that many state media outlets, including Channel One, TASS, RIA Novosti and others, retain archived news items mentioning Alexei Navalny and photographs of him published prior to the Moscow City Court ruling of 9 June 2021 designating structures associated with the politician as extremist organisations. To date, there is no known instance of any media outlet being prosecuted for such content. Ordinary citizens, however, particularly those connected with the lawful activities of opposition parties, are regularly subjected to administrative liability for the very same news items and photographs.

Pskov Yabloko’s statement emphasises that the ruling in Tatyana Fyodorova’s case is yet another act of political struggle conducted by non-political means, a struggle being waged against supporters and members of the Yabloko party across Russia on the eve of September elections to the State Duma and legislative assemblies.