Chebanov Dmitriy Sergeevich

On September 5, 2021, two local residents, Dmitry Chebanov and Nikita Kreshchuk, were detained at the viewing platform of the Central Children's Store on Lubyanka Square in Moscow. They were taken to the Meshchansky District Department of Internal Affairs, where administrative reports were drawn up against the men for failing to comply with a lawful police order. In identical reports, the police officers claimed to have observed two suspicious men who were "visibly nervous, looking around, and holding two black plastic bags." When approached for an identity check, the men refused and began behaving aggressively, so they were taken to the police station. The following day, September 6, Judge Victoria Dyachkova of the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow reviewed both reports and sentenced Chebanov and Kreshchuk to 15 days of administrative arrest. A few days later, on September 14, 2021, the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case against Muscovite Dmitry Chebanov and others for inciting, involving, and participating in mass unrest. According to law enforcement, the group consisted of at least 11 members from seven Russian regions. Most of the defendants were members and administrators of regional chats on the Telegram channel "Chto-delat!" (What to Do!). According to investigators, Dmitry Chebanov and other members of the group, driven by political hatred toward Russian government bodies, created a network of channels on the Telegram messenger called "Chto-delat?" (What to Do?) with the "intent of concealing their true intentions" and maintaining secrecy. They posted and conducted propaganda aimed at organizing mass unrest across the Russian Federation during the unified vote from September 17 to 19, 2021, with the goal of disrupting the elections for deputies of the VIII convocation of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Using the TikTok video messaging service and the Telegram messenger, the defendants conducted an online information and propaganda campaign aimed at inciting hatred or enmity, as well as recruiting individuals to organize mass riots with the goal of disrupting the 2021 State Duma elections. On September 16, searches were conducted in Moscow, Sochi, Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, St. Petersburg, the city of Nadym in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, and Nizhnekamsk in the Republic of Tatarstan. Dmitry Chebanov's common-law wife, Zhanna Chernova, and designer Maria Platonova were detained in Moscow. Activist Ildar Sadriev was detained in Sochi, Alexei Yanochkin in Krasnoyarsk, RusNews journalist Igor Kuznetsov in Tomsk, Vyacheslav Abramov in St. Petersburg, and Dmitry Lamanov in Nadym. On the same day, all defendants were charged with inciting mass riots and inciting hatred or enmity. A criminal case for drug possession without intent to sell was also opened against Vyacheslav Abramov, but it was subsequently dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. On September 17, 2021, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow remanded Dmitry Chebanov and Zhanna Chernova to pretrial detention, and Maria Platonova to house arrest. That same day, the Lazarevsky District Court of Sochi remanded Ildar Sadriev, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Krasnoyarsk remanded Aleksey Yanochkin, the Kirovsky District Court of Tomsk remanded Igor Kuznetsov, and the Leninsky District Court of St. Petersburg remanded Vyacheslav Abramov. On September 18, the Nadym City Court of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug also remanded Dmitry Lamanov to pretrial detention. In December of that year, those arrested in the "Chto-Delat!" case... from all over Russia they were transported to Moscow. On April 5, 2024, Judge Oksana Kopylova of the Basmanny District Court of Moscow found all defendants in the case guilty and sentenced: - Ildar Sadriev to 6 years and 6 months in a strict regime prison, - Dmitry Chebanov to 7 years and 6 months in a general regime prison, - Zhanna Chernova to 5 years and 2 months in a general regime prison, - Nikita Kreshchuk to 6 years in a general regime prison, - Alexey Kurlov to 6 years in a general regime prison, - Vyacheslav Abramov to 6 years and 6 months in a strict regime prison, - Dmitry Lamanov to 6 years in a general regime prison, - Igor Kuznetsov to 6 years in a general regime prison, - Maria Platonova to 5 years and 2 months in a general regime prison, - Igor Nagibin to 8 years in a general regime prison with a fine of 15,000 rubles, - Alexey Yanochkin to 6 years in a general regime prison, and all defendants in the case, except Chernova, The court suspended the right to engage in activities related to posting messages on public networks and the internet for two years. For Maria Platonova, the court granted a deferment of her sentence until she was pregnant and her child reached 14 years of age. On November 21, 2024, the Moscow City Court upheld the sentence.