Russia targets influential blogger with terrorism, extremism labels

The Russian Federal Service for Financial Monitoring (Rosfinmonitoring) has officially added blogger Ilya Varlamov—previously designated as a foreign agent—to its list of extremists and terrorists.

This development follows a judgment delivered in absentia by the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow in August 2025, sentencing Varlamov to eight years in a penal colony and imposing a fine of 99.5 million rubles ($1.29 million), Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.  

The charges stem from allegations that Varlamov disseminated false information about the Russian military, motivated by political hatred, in violation of Part 2, Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code. Additionally, he was found guilty of evading his legal obligations as a foreign agent under Part 2, Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code.

The case is largely based on content published on Varlamov’s YouTube channel, which authorities deemed to constitute the spread of politically charged disinformation.

 By Vafa Guliyeva