Volgograd loader sentenced to 2 years for Telegram comments

A 35-year-old resident of Surovikino, Volgograd Region, Vladimir Kravchenko, was sentenced to two years in a general-regime penal colony after being found guilty of justifying terrorist activities on the internet.

According to the press service of the FSB Directorate for the Volgograd Region, it was established that the man made statements in the Telegram messaging app that positively assessed the activities of a Ukrainian paramilitary group designated as a terrorist organization by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. It was not specified which terrorist organization Kravchenko was positively evaluating.

According to open sources, from 2005 to 2008 Vladimir Kravchenko studied at the GOU NPO (State Educational Institution of Primary Vocational Education) «Cossack Cadet Professional School No. 43,» earning a qualification as a master of agricultural production — a driver of cars and trucks, as well as a tractor operator of several categories and a repair mechanic of the 3rd rank. He completed private security guard courses and worked for more than 10 years as a loader at the Surovikino Elevator. He was looking for a job as a tractor driver or truck driver.

Based on operational materials from the FSB, a criminal case was opened against the man under Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (public justification of terrorism). The Southern District Military Court found Vladimir Kravchenko guilty and sentenced him to two years in a general-regime penal colony and a two-year ban on activities related to administering websites on the internet. The sentence has not yet entered into force and can be appealed.