Press Release, 10.03.2026

Photo: Nikolai Markin / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

On the morning of 10 March, police arrived at the home of Yabloko party member Nikolai Markin, where he lives with his mother in the town of Ramenskoye, the Moscow region. Police had with a search warrant. The phones of everyone present in Markin’s home were confiscated. Nikolai only managed to inform his colleagues that the warrant referred to the opening of a criminal case under Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, known as the article on “fake news” about the Russian Armed Forces. In the afternoon Markin was questioned by investigators, after which the charge was reclassified.

Nikolai Markin, 49, is a Yabloko member, urban heritage defender, and activist. In 2019, he ran as the party’s candidate for the town council. In January 2025, he was held administratively liable under the article on “discrediting” the armed forces (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) for a post on social media and was fined 35,000 roubles.

The search conducted that day at the home of Nikolai Markin’s elderly mother was connected with the opening of a criminal case under Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code and lasted several hours. The activist was then taken to the Investigative Committee office for the town of Ramenskoye, the Moscow region. Markin’s defence was handled by lawyer Natalia Tikhonova. At the Investigative Committee office, he was also accompanied by Alexander Muravyov, Deputy Chair of the Yabloko Moscow Region branch. Following the questioning, the lawyer announced that the charge in the criminal case originally brought under Clause (d), Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code had been reclassified to Part 1 of Article 207.3 which penalises the public dissemination of deliberately false information regarding the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

“I am grateful to my lawyer and to the representatives of the Yabloko party for devoting an entire day to the competent and professional defence of my rights. We are satisfied that the arguments put forward by the defence were accepted by the investigation and that I was released on an undertaking not to leave the town. At the same time, I regard this prosecution as an act of political intimidation and very much hope for a favourable outcome,” Nikolai Markin said.

It should be noted that Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code, known as the “fake news” article concerning the Russian Armed Forces, was introduced in 2022 and serves as an instrument of wartime censorship. Part 1 of the article covers only “the public dissemination, under the guise of reliable reports, of knowingly false information containing data on the use of the Russian Armed Forces”. The minimum penalty under this provision is a fine of 700,000 roubles; the maximum is imprisonment of up to five years.

Clause (d), Part 2 of Article 207.3 envisages that the “offence” is committed with aggravating circumstances: “on grounds of political, ideological, racial, national, or religious hatred or enmity, or on grounds of hatred or enmity towards any social group”. The minimum penalty under Clause (d), Part 2 of Article 207.3 is a fine of 3,000,000 roubles; the maximum is imprisonment of up to ten years. At present, this charge has been brought against Yabloko Deputy Chairs Maxim Kruglov and Lev Shlosberg.