Dmitrii Lialiaev

A resident of Saratov, a poet and singer-songwriter. Lialiaev regularly posted on his VKontakte page, sharing either critical poems or comments targeting the Russian authorities and the war in Ukraine. In October and November 2022, Lialiaev was repeatedly fined under administrative charges. One fine of 30,000 roubles was issued under the article on “discrediting the army” (Article 20.3.3 of Code of Administrative Offences) for a post that read: “fresh lamb is off to slaughter.” Another fine of the same amount was imposed under the article on “disrespect towards the authorities” (Part 3 of Article 20.1) for an image of Putin with Hitler-style moustache and haircut. He was also fined twice — 1,000 roubles each time — under the article on displaying banned symbols (Article 20.3), for depicting Putin both as Hitler and with tattoos associated with criminal subculture.

Lialiaev was charged with “public incitement to extremism” and with “repeated display of Nazi or extremist symbols,” as well as with “spreading fake news” about the Armed Forces. On 11 September 2023, he was sentenced in the first case to two years in an open prison. On 20 November 2023, in the “fake news” case, he received a further six-month sentence in an open prison. Taking into account the previous verdict, the total sentence amounted to two years and two months.