Ruslan Sokolovsky

In September 2016, it became known that Ruslan Sokolovskii, a popular Ekaterinburg blogger, was being charged with insulting the feelings of believers and inciting religious hatred. The charges were based on three videos in which he harshly criticized the Russian Orthodox Church: one showed him playing Pokémon Go in a church (which led to a probe in August 2016), another commented on the situation surrounding that incident, and the third responded to a local bishop’s remarks on marriage. On September 3, Sokolovskii was arrested by court order. He was also threatened with a case in connection with the discovery of a so-called "spy" pen in his possession. Sokolovskii reported receiving threats from a psychiatrist. On September 8, the court of second instance placed him under house arrest. On October 28, Sokolovskii was again placed in a pre-trial detention center. In January 2017, he was also charged with of illegal possession of special technical equipment after a search found a pen with a built-in video camera. On February 13, 2017, Sokolovskii was again placed under house arrest.

On May 11, 2017, Sokolovskii was given 3 and a half years of suspended sentence. On July 7, the appellate court reduced the suspended sentence to 2 years and 3 months, after the charges related to possessing a "spy pen" were dropped.