The pro-Kremlin blogger was placed in a mental hospital shortly after making a blog post criticising the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and his country’s war in Ukraine
A popular Russian vlogger known for his pro-Putin content was placed in a psychiatric facility after posting a video where he denounced the war in Ukraine.
Ilya Remeslo had a reputation as something of a Kremlin stooge, posting videos on Russian social media mocking Putin’s critics and supporting nearly all of the controversial president’s decisions. The 42-year-old lawyer and former member of a Kremlin-controlled advisory body was known for his inflammatory content relating to Alexei Navalny, a prominent rival and critic of Putin’s who died in an Arctic penal colony in 2024.
However, Remeslo, growing frustrated with what he saw as failings in Russia’s war with Ukraine, since U-turned on his position, posting a manifesto on Tuesday (March 17) titled “5 reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin.”
He accused the Russian leader of being the mastermind of a “failing war” that left millions dead and devastated the economy.
“Vladimir Putin is not a legitimate president. Vladimir Putin must resign and be brought to trial as a war criminal and a thief,” Remeslo wrote in his post.“[Putin] is becoming weaker and weaker, year after year. You can see what is happening now, complete disarray and instability.
“There are already clear signs of an approaching collapse of the system. Because Putin is afraid to surround himself with worthy rivals, people who could genuinely compete with him, he will lose power. This will most likely happen this year, in 2026.”
In an earlier post, he also warned that Vladimir Putin “will be overthrown this year’, according to a pro-Kremlin cheerleader who has seemingly turned on the Russian President who he says is getting “weaker and weaker”.
The Kremlin was left in shock as a man thought to be one of their biggest supports branded Putin a ‘war criminal, liar, and thief’, adding that a more modern leader needs to takes his place.
Two days later, the vlogger had been infirmed in St Petersburg’s infamous Psychiatric Hospital No. 3, known to house thousands of patients deemed unfit for regular society.
News agency Reuters were unable to reach Remeslo himself or determine how he came to be placed in the Psychiatric Hospital.
A woman who answered the hospital’s telephone number confirmed to Reuters that a man with the name and surname matching Remeslo’s had been brought to the ward.
The hospital worker refused to give any details about when and why Remeslo had been admitted however.