Zoriktuev Sayan Batuevich

On July 6, 2023, in Ulan-Ude, unknown individuals poured black paint on the bust of Soviet military officer, Hero of the USSR Sergey Oreshkin, installed in the park named after him. On July 27, 2023, a 46-year-old popular writer in Buryatia, Sayan Zorigtuyev, was detained on charges of desecrating a monument. According to law enforcement, in June of the same year, the man received an offer in a messenger to damage a monument "for monetary compensation in foreign currency." The Investigative Committee claims that it also found in Zoriktuev's Telegram correspondence with a user with the nickname Kira about a "new assignment, in accordance with which [the latter] was actively preparing to set fire to a relay cabinet on the railway." Sayan did not have time to set fire to the cabinet - he was detained. Ultimately, in addition to the case of insulting the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland, a case was initiated against Zoriktuev for preparing sabotage and confidential cooperation with a foreign state to the detriment of the Russian Federation. The court sent Zoriktuev to the SIZO. 12 December 2024, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Buryatia found Sayan Zoriktuev guilty and sentenced him to 11 years in prison, with the first 3 years to be served in prison and the remainder in a strict regime colony. The court also ordered to confiscate his car and "other property used in the commission of the crime" in favor of the state. March 13, 2025, the Fifth Appellate Court of General Jurisdiction left the sentence unchanged.