Russia clamps down on anti-war opponents as blogger is detained and Boris Nadezhdin is barred from collecting signatures

Russian authorities have moved against two prominent critics in a fresh sign of pressure on domestic opposition figures. Blogger Ilya Remeslo has been remanded in custody for two months on suspicion of spreading false information about the military. Separately, politician Boris Nadezhdin has been convicted of displaying extremist symbols, a ruling that prevents him from collecting signatures for September parliamentary elections.

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The two cases were reported on Friday and appear to be part of a wider tightening of restrictions on dissent in Russia. Remeslo, who had previously been a strong supporter of Vladimir Putin, changed his position last March and called the president a "war criminal and thief" who should resign. Nadezhdin, 63, was fined 1,000 roubles, equivalent to about $13, and can still appeal against the ruling.

He briefly needed medical treatment when he appeared in court in his hometown of Dolgoprudny, north of Moscow. Nadezhdin had already been declared a foreign agent last week and was detained on Monday over a video he reposted in 2023 that briefly showed an image of Alexei Navalny. He has also been barred from leaving Russia.

The latest conviction closes off a legal route that had still allowed him to gather signatures for registration as a candidate, despite the foreign agent designation. Nadezhdin said in court that the real aim was to silence him and stop him running for the Duma, Russia's parliament. The developments matter because they come at a time when few genuine opposition politicians remain active inside Russia.

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Many critics have gone into exile, while Navalny, the country's most prominent opposition figure, died in a penal colony in the Arctic in February 2024. Russia said he died of natural causes, while the UK and four European countries said they were confident he had been poisoned with a lethal toxin. Against that backdrop, the cases against Remeslo and Nadezhdin underline how legal and administrative measures continue to shape the limits of political competition.

Nadezhdin first came to prominence two years ago when he tried to stand for the presidency on an anti-war platform, but electoral authorities later blocked him after ruling that signatures he had submitted were flawed. His current case shows how multiple restrictions can be layered on a single opposition figure, from foreign agent status to detention and now conviction for extremist symbols. Remeslo's detention also highlights how quickly former supporters of the Kremlin can become targets once they turn publicly critical.

What remains unclear is whether either man will succeed in overturning the latest decisions on appeal. It is also not yet clear whether the authorities will bring further charges or restrictions in either case. The immediate question is whether these moves will affect the September parliamentary race and how much room, if any, remains for anti-war voices to participate in public politics.

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