A Russian blogger has been sentenced to 14 days in jail after filming himself spoiling election ballots in the street and writing an insult about Vladimir Putin
A Russian blogger has been jailed for 14 days after writing “Putin is a dickhead” on an election ballot in a stunt filmed in the street.
A court in the city of Penza, in Russia’s Volga region, sentenced Stanislav Morozov to 14 days of administrative arrest on a charge of “petty hooliganism”, independent outlet 7×7 reported on Tuesday (September 22), citing the court’s press service.
Morozov posted a video on Saturday (September 19), showing him filling out his ballot for Russia’s parliamentary elections while standing out in the open on a street. In the clip, he appears to cross out the United Russia candidate on the first ballot, ticks the boxes for all the other candidates, and adds a message saying the ruling, pro-Putin party “goes straight to hell”.
On the second ballot paper, the video shows him writing the slogan “Putin khuylo” across the page – a crude insult commonly translated as “Putin is a dickhead”. Reports say Morozov was tracked down within hours of uploading the footage.
He was approached by police and plainclothes officers and taken to a detention centre before being brought before a court. The case comes amid wider pressure on activists and independent voices in Russia, with Morozov already known to have had previous run-ins with law enforcement in the region, Novaya Gazeta reported.
Throughout 2026, he has reportedly posted about local security forces rounding up men and aggressively pressuring – or forcing – civilians to sign military service contracts with the Russian Defence Ministry. His reporting came despite warnings from the regional Interior Ministry, which had threatened prosecution for anyone sharing information about the wave of forced enlistments.
In July, Morozov was also the subject of a criminal case opened by the Federal Security Service, the FSB, for “inciting extremist activity”, as per Novaya Gazeta.
The case followed a video in which he criticised military enlistment staff for allegedly beating local men, and urged residents to unite against the government. He was briefly detained and later released under restrictions, including a ban on leaving the country, reports said.
Rights and legal monitoring groups such as OVD-Info have previously noted that 14 days is a standard punishment for administrative “hooliganism”.
But they have warned that activists and bloggers who insult President Vladimir Putin or interfere with mobilisation efforts can face harsher retaliation or more serious criminal charges after detention.
Morozov’s latest sentence was handed down in Penza as authorities continue to clamp down on dissent, with critics often punished under a mix of administrative and criminal laws.
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