October 20, 2026, 3:43 PMRSSRU

Journalist

Nikolay Gorelov (Kirichenko)

Not in RussiaChecked October 18, 2026

Nikolay Gorelov (Kirichenko), born 1985, Kaliningrad Oblast. Charges: Article 282 part 2 item v, Russian Criminal Code (Incitement of hatred or enmity by an organized group); Article 354.1 part 4, Russian Criminal Code (Insulting the memory, symbols, and veterans of the Great Patriotic War (committed by a group of…); “Case of Nikolai Gorelov on inciting hatred and spreading disrespectful information about the days of military glory”, opened on December 1, 2023. Status: not in Russia.

In brief

Kaliningrad Oblast, Moscow · Kaliningrad, Moscow · Journalists · Extremism cases

Sentence

No information about a verdict.

Preventive measure: arrest in absentia since September 13, 2024

Charges

Latest event

September 13, 2024 — preventive measure: arrest in absentia

Checked October 18, 2026 · no changes since October 15

Timeline

  1. · Preventive measure: arrest in absentia

  2. · Added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of “terrorists and extremists”

  3. · Criminal case opened

    Case of Nikolai Gorelov on inciting hatred and spreading disrespectful information about the days of military glory

  4. · Persecution ends

  5. · Persecution begins

    Nikolay Gorelov’s case of insulting the days of military glory

Criminal case

Case of Nikolai Gorelov on inciting hatred and spreading disrespectful information about the days of military glory

There are no other defendants in this case in the database.

Nikolay Gorelov’s case of insulting the days of military glory

There are no other defendants in this case in the database.

Details and sources

Full summary

According to OVD-Info

He is a resident of Kaliningrad. On 28 October 2019, Gorelov was stopped on the street and asked to go to the police station, where officers from the Centre for Combating Extremism told him that his posts on social media showed signs of offending religious feelings, rehabilitating Nazism and discrediting the 23 February holiday (The Day of Fatherland Defenders). On 20 November, he was again stopped on the street and forced to sign a summons to the Investigative Committee, where he appeared a few days later, but refused to testify. The reason for interrogation were several posts on VKontakte, the investigation was conducted under articles on the rehabilitation of Nazism and offending religious feelings. On 9 December, the Investigative Committee issued a decision not to initiate criminal proceedings due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. However, on 8 January a case was opened under the article on the rehabilitation of Nazism. The grounds for that was Gorelov’s artistic work.

In January 2019, Gorelov received a call from a person who introduced himself as a district police officer and spoke rudely to him about the “nonsense” he had “written on social media”.

In June 2020, the case was dropped.

In 2023, Gorelov participated in the Forum of Free Peoples of Post-Russia, where he represented the Baltic Party. In December 2023, he was added to the list of extremists and terrorists of Rosfinmonitoring. On 13 September 2024, a court in Moscow arrested him in absentia on charges of inciting hatred and dissemination of disrespectful information about the days of military glory.

All fields of the record
Citizenship
Russia
Persecution episodes
2

Other people prosecuted under Article 282 part 2 item v, Russian Criminal Code

Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.

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