Konstantin Smirnov

Affiliated media: Vid Sboku, Editor-in-chief

Incident date: January 31, 2025

Attack type:

• Court trial

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Mediazona

Location: Russia, Ryazan oblast, Ryazan

Additional information:

The Soviet District Court of Ryazan has remanded Konstantin Smirnov, editor-in-chief of Vid Sbochu and chairman of the local Yabloko party branch, to a pre-trial detention centre on criminal charges of extortion. Smirnov was detained the previous day. Ryazan journalists Alexei Frolov and Natalia Smolyaninova were also arrested in connection with the case. The suspects are accused of extorting 1.2 million rubles (€12,787.08) from Alexei Rogotovsky, the acting head of the Ryazan Capital Repair Fund.