Mikhail Serenko

Publicist, political scientist, former deputy of the Volgograd City Duma and former head of the city's Tractorozavodsky district. He is associated with the anonymous Telegram channel Freedom Island - he himself has not confirmed this, but Serenko is listed as the founder of an officially registered media outlet with the same name.

On 22 July 2025, he was detained on charges of the rehabilitation of Nazism and extortion. Two days later, Serenko was placed in custody in connection with the case.

The charge of rehabilitation of Nazism is related to some of Serenko's posts. He was accused of extortion because, according to the investigation, in 2024, he demanded from a subject of his publications on his Telegram channel in exchange for refraining from further negative posts. After the refusal, Serenko continued to publish negative posts and then demanded 350,000 rubles from the man, according to law enforcement authorities.

In August 2025, it became known that a case was initiated against Serenko over the unlawful public display of pornography on the internet. The new case was consolidated with the previous one into a single proceeding.

Later, information emerged about another case — concerning defamation related to an accusation of a crime against sexual integrity or of a grave or especially grave crime. What exactly prompted the case remains unknown.