MEDUZA/EN/VHF

A court in Moscow has sentenced Marxist theoretician and sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky to 10 days in jail for sharing content on social media promoting unpermitted protests by the Communist Party (KPRF) against the results of Russia's recent parliamentary elections. Police arrested Kagarlitsky on Wednesday on his way to the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences, where he is a lecturer.

Roman Dobrokhotov, the editor-in-chief of The Insider, has responded to new criminal charges that he allegedly crossed the Russian border illegally. The criminal case "was conjured out of thin air," he argued in an editorial published by The Insider, asserting that he was within his rights when he left the country in August, weeks after federal agents raided his home and interrogated his parents. Russian officials seized his international passport at the time, but Dobrokhotov says he maintains his general civil passport.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Russia must not deport migrant rights activist Valentina Chupik to Uzbekistan until at least October 17. Chupik, who is an Uzbek citizen, has been in custody at an immigration detention center at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport since September 25.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) released a new list of information that "could be used to threaten the security of the Russian Federation." Though the list doesn't concern state secrets, collecting any information included in the new order carries the threat of a "foreign agent" designation.

Former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili was arrested upon returning to the country on Friday, September 1, Interfax reported.

At a United Russia congress ten years ago, on September 24, 2011, it was announced that Vladimir Putin -- after four years as prime minister -- would be running for president once again. As for then-President Dmitry Medvedev, he would be heading up the ruling party's list for the State Duma elections. This switch was quickly termed "castling" -- as in the eponymous chess move, the country's two top dogs would simply swap places. Since then, Dmitry Medvedev and his political influence have faded into the shadows. This has been a great loss for the RuNet. Indeed, there was once a time when Dmitry Medvedev's antics dominated Russian meme culture. Meduza takes a nostalgic look back at this golden age.

Moscow's Public Election Monitoring Committee is auditing the results of local remote electronic voting (DEG) during Russia's recent State Duma elections. The review (not to be confused with a formal recount that carries legal weight) is a rare response to fraud allegations from opposition candidates who lost narrowly after electronic votes were added to the final results. The monitoring committee has defended the elections' legitimacy and hopes an audit will raise confidence in electronic voting, which federal officials plan to expand in future elections. The effort, however, is unlikely to persuade opposition politicians and experts in blockchain technology (which is the basis for Russia's DEG system) who say online voting is a "black box" that the authorities' control completely. Since the polls closed in Moscow, mathematicians, political scientists, and economists have debated the merits of election fraud allegations. Meduza breaks down these arguments.

Ilya Sachkov, the co-founder and CEO of the cybersecurity company Group-IB, was arrested in Moscow on suspicion of treason. On Wednesday morning, Moscow's Lefortovo Court jailed him for two months pending trial. A day earlier, police raided the company's Moscow headquarters -- spokespeople said the search ended in the evening, but according to RTVi, men in masks and camouflage uniforms were still on duty near the office overnight. Kommersant reported that the office resumed work as usual on Wednesday morning.

The Russian capital is seeing a spike in coronavirus cases once again. Accordingly, the number of hospitalizations is also on the rise. Though the current situation hardly compares to the peak of "third wave" seen over the summer, Meduza's sources say Moscow officials are mulling over plans to reintroduce tighter public health measures. Several major shopping center have already been issued warnings for turning a blind eye to patrons and sales staff ignoring mask requirements. With this in mind, businesses -- and restaurants in particular -- are bracing themselves for the return of tougher restrictions. However, restaurant owners also expect that the authorities will hold off as long as they possibly can, for fear of having to hand out subsidies.

The Russian Justice Ministry went on a 'foreign agent' designation spree on the evening of Wednesday, September 29. The agency blacklisted more than 20 individuals, as well as the independent rights watchdog OVD-Info and the news outlet Mediazona, which was founded by members of Pussy Riot and reports on Russia's judicial, law enforcement, and penal system. The Justice Ministry's "foreign-agent media" registry now includes 72 entries. Meduza introduces the list's latest additions here.