On 3 March 2024, Buyanov posted a photograph of the aftermath of a fatal Russian drone strike in Odesa: “This wonderful family of Evangelical Christians was destroyed along with the entrance of a residential building in Odessa [sic], which yesterday .. was hit by a Russian UAV-pilot-shahed. 32-year-old [redacted name] together with 4-month-old Ti

Pastor Romanyuk wrote to his family from the detention centre later in December 2024 saying that he was recovering. He is “physically weak (he has lost almost 30kg), but so resilient, with a very clear position, with a strong faith that even strengthens us”, his daughter Svetlana Zhukova wrote on 16 January 2025. Despite Pastor Romanyuk’s hea

The trial of Zen Buddhist leader Ilya Vladimirovich Vasilyev (born 9 December 1973) on charges of spreading “false information” about the Russian Armed Forces is underway in Moscow. He remains in custody at Matrosskaya Tishina prison, a decision he says has “destructive religious consequences”. After being delayed three times because of “

The posts which led to Buyanov’s multiple prosecutions were found during internet monitoring in December 2024 by the Interior Ministry’s Counter-Extremism Centre, which described them as “extremist materials”. They included poems and songs, mostly of his own composition and all critical of Russia’s war against Ukraine. For example, on 1 M

It goes without saying that criminals will commit identity fraud, submit false information, or skip the BOIR form entirely. But countries with registries like the BOIR have found that asking honest small business owners to submit their beneficial ownership data is useful for criminal investigations. A United Kingdom government survey found that law