Court extends arrest of 'Vid sboku' editor by three months

The Ryazan Regional Court granted the investigator«s motion and extended the pretrial detention of the editor-in-chief of the online publication »Vid sboku«, Konstantin Smirnov, for three months, the court»s press service reported.

At the same time, the court denied the motion by Smirnov«s defense to change the pretrial measure to house arrest. As a result, the arrest was extended for 3 months, until April 30 of this year inclusive.

The court considered the motion on January 19–20 at an open court session. The ruling has not entered into legal force and can be appealed.

A criminal case against Smirnov was initiated in January 2025. He is accused of extorting 300,000 rubles (about $3,300 at current rates) from the head of the Overhaul Fund of the Ryazan Region, Alexei Rogotovsky.

According to the investigation, Rogotovsky did not like the publications in the «Vid sboku» outlet. Then, he allegedly through the former editor-in-chief of «Rzn.info», Natalia Smolyaninova, agreed with Smirnov to stop the publications for 300,000 rubles (about $3,300 at current rates).

According to the investigation, Smolyaninova, who is currently under house arrest, organized a meeting between Smirnov and Rogotovsky. The official allegedly handed over the money personally to the editor-in-chief of «Vid sboku».