ASTRA: Moscow authorities detain Telegram protest organiser ahead of planned rally VIDEO

A young administrator of a popular Russian Telegram channel coordinating a protest against the platform’s blocking was detained by security forces in Moscow on March 19, according to reports from ASTRA and SOTAvision.

Nineteen‑year‑old Sofia Chepik, a coordinator for the “Aliy Lebed” Telegram chat, was taken into custody in the afternoon. The group has been organising a planned demonstration on March 29 at Bolotnaya Square to oppose the government’s decision to block access to Telegram.

Chepik reportedly announced her detention in the chat and posted a video filmed from inside a vehicle in which an unidentified man told her she was being taken for what he described as a “preventative chat.” ASTRA was unable to locate the video in the group chat, but one of the protest’s organisers later confirmed her detention and said she had already been released.

The “Aliy Lebed” chat now has nearly 6,500 members, with more than 30 people acting as administrators and moderators. The primary administrator is identified as 20‑year‑old Stepan Razin. Video announcements of the planned rally began circulating on TikTok earlier in March.

Organisers had filed an official application to hold the rally at Bolotnaya Square on March 29, but local authorities rejected it, citing "concerns over the epidemiological situation."

Organisers said they have since submitted a new application and believe there are no legal grounds to prohibit the event. They stated that they had reviewed all previously cited reasons for cancelling similar events and concluded that those cancellations were unlawful.

Group administrators have also clarified that the chat’s rules prohibit calls for unauthorised actions or violence.

By Sabina Mammadli