Valerii Kalaidzhan

According to the investigation, Kalaydzhan posted on his Odnoklassniki social media page, registered under the name “................”, an image depicting an individual, K.V.A., born in .........., set against a red-and-black flag background with the caption “Glory to the heroes” and a red-and-black flag bearing a trident symbol below. The post allegedly contained linguistic and psychological elements promoting the ideology of organisations recognised as extremist in the Russian Federation, including the UPA, OUN, and Right Sector. He also posted on the same account, identified by the unique electronic address ................, an image of a featherless rooster with a St George’s ribbon around its neck, against the backdrop of the Russian flag, accompanied by the text “Glory to Russia! Our Crimea!”. The investigation claims the image displayed linguistic and psychological signs of a contemptuous and negative attitude towards a symbol of Russia’s military glory — the St George’s ribbon, which is associated with the defence of the Fatherland. In another post on his Odnoklassniki page, registered under “................”, he published an image of a woman’s face with her mouth wide open, showing sharp, animal-like teeth. The background featured the Russian flag and the caption: “No country in the world has killed as many Russian-speaking people in Ukraine as Russia, which came to liberate them.” Investigators alleged that this post denied the stated purpose of Russia’s actions in Ukraine — the liberation of Russian-speaking people. In April 2022, Kalaydzhan was fined 1,000 roubles under the administrative article on the public display of Nazi symbols (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences); the specific details of the case are unknown. In April 2023, he was fined 30,000 roubles under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences (“discrediting the Armed Forces”) for posting illustrations on social media that featured the “Z” symbol alongside Russian imagery resembling the fascist swastika in the form of a cross. On the same day, he was again fined 1,000 roubles under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences for the public display of Nazi symbols; the details of this case are also unknown.