Vadim Cheldiev

An opera singer, soloist of The Mariinsky Theatre. Actively spoke out against coronavirus restrictions, recorded appeals to his countrymen, calling for street protests. On 17 April 2020, three days prior to the rally against coronavirus restrictions in Vladikavkaz, Cheldiev was detained in Saint Petersburg as part of the case on dissemination of deliberately false information about circumstances representing a threat to a human life or health. Cheldiev was transferred to Vladikavkaz. According to the investigation, on the way from the Mineralnye Vody airport to Vladikavkaz, while being in a police officer's personal car, Cheldiev attacked a policeman and hit him twice in the face with his fist. Due to this he was accused of use of violence against an authorities representative. Cheldiev was taken into custody. He was also accused of hooliganism, but later the accusation was reclassified to organizing mass riots and calling for extremist activities. On 19 July 2022 Cheldiev was sentenced to 10 years in a strict-regime colony.