Ruslan Abasov

A left-wing activist from Vladimir. In May 2020, criminal proceedings for robbery were initiated against him: according to Abasov himself, he beat an officer of a district police department “in the course of a quarrel that lasted more than one day”, but he was also accused of extorting cigarettes from the officer. Later, criminal proceedings for the use of violence against a police officer were initiated as well. Abasov states that the reason was an unjustified detention: force was used against him when he refused to go to the police station, one of the police officers caused him to trip, and Abasov, while falling, caused the officer himself to fall. In August 2020, the cases were merged. According to the publication Dovod, the merged case was later dropped. Abasov believes that the police officers wanted to “spoil his life”.

In addition, two criminal cases for vandalism were initiated against him in Moscow: according to him, “for a broken bus stop advertising amendments to the Constitution and for a broken turnstile during a fight near the metro”. The investigations in these cases were also suspended.

On 23 December 2021, Abasov was detained in Moscow following a search, and his whereabouts were unknown until the following day. On 24 December, interrogations and face-to-face confrontations were conducted. Abasov was accused of hooliganism in connection with an action involving flares near the building of the regional office of the FSB. A minor participant in the action was also detained; he initially gave testimony against Abasov but later recanted. The following day, the court ordered that Abasov be remanded in custody. On 13 July 2022, a measure of restraint in the form of a prohibition on certain actions was imposed. In January 2023, Abasov was placed on a wanted list.

According to Dovod, in 2022, the criminal proceedings for robbery and the use of violence against a police officer were resumed. On 8 February, he was also placed on a wanted list in connection with these proceedings. It is presumed that the vandalism cases were also resumed.

According to Abasov, criminal proceedings were initiated against him in Croatia, where he sought political asylum, on charges of possession of weapons and child pornography, as well as propaganda in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and participation in the activities of a radical Islamic organisation. He claims that he reached an agreement with the local security service under which he would withdraw his application for political asylum in exchange for being allowed to travel to Bosnia.

Abasov subsequently moved to Montenegro, where, according to him, criminal proceedings were initiated in February 2024 on charges of selling and possession of drugs, possession of weapons, and grievous bodily harm. He was remanded in custody. He was sentenced to 11 months’ imprisonment on the drug-related charges; the status of the other charges remains unclear. After his release, Abasov was detained and placed in an immigration detention centre, after which he was forced to leave the country. He subsequently moved to Serbia.