Two fined for protest with balloons in St. Petersburg

The case was considered by the Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg. On the evening of January 29, in Ovsyannikov Garden, men displayed white banners with black inscriptions, attached them to fences, and launched balloons with texts.

On January 30, the head of the united press service of the courts, Daria Lebedeva, said: «The guys deliberately held a public event in the form of picketing... with the aim of undermining the political regime.» No notification about the protest was submitted to the city administration.

Sergey Khachatryan and Vladislav Arsentyev have been held administratively liable under the article «violation of the established procedure for organizing or holding a meeting, rally, demonstration, march, or picketing.» The law requires organizers to notify authorities 10–15 days before the event, submit an application, coordinate details, and ensure safety.

In St. Petersburg, anti-COVID restrictions prohibiting uncoordinated public actions remain in place. Moreover, last spring, the city court banned the song by Noize MC* for endorsing a coup d«état.* Noize MC (Ivan Alekseyev) has been recognized as a foreign agent by the Russian Ministry of Justice.