Volzhsky authorities denied permission to hold a rally in defense of Telegram.

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The organizer of a rally in defense of Telegram received a refusal from city authorities, citing that such an event is contrary to public safety interests, and the requested location is not intended for such events.

As reported by Kavkazsky Knot, in early March, a 20-year-old resident of Volzhsky submitted documents to the Volgograd mayor's office seeking approval for a rally against the blocking and slowdown of the popular Telegram messenger. Volgograd City Hall responded by proposing to postpone the event "until the situation stabilizes." The organizer refused, after which "plainclothes men" approached her. On March 12, the organizer of the rally reported that three people "in civilian clothes" came to her work and threatened her employer with problems, after which she was temporarily suspended from work.

On March 20, the organizer of the protest against the blocking and slowdown of Telegram received a refusal to hold a public event from the Volzhsky administration, she reported this on her Telegram channel "Luch".

The response, addressed to "Dear Varvara Denisovna", states that "the information contained in the notice of holding a public event, with a demand to stop blocking, is contrary to the interests of public safety, does not provide grounds for unambiguously determining that the stated purpose of the planned public event complies with the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, that the goals of the rally or its conduct cannot be associated with a violation of public order and public safety, will not harm the rights and legitimate interests of others and will not create a threat of causing such harm, which may entail administrative or criminal liability."

Also, the response signed by the head of the administration, O.A. Popova, stated that the location where the event was planned "does not fall under the category of specially designated or adapted places for collective discussion of socially significant issues and the expression of public sentiment, as well as the mass presence of citizens." Popova listed the locations that meet the stated criteria. There were only two of them: the area in front of the swimming pool (2 Naberezhnaya Street) and the theater square in front of the Volga Drama Theater (3 Sovetskaya Street).

In conclusion, the organizer was asked to "determine the purpose of the event and select a location for the public event" in accordance with regional legislation.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that the Abinsky District Court of Krasnodar Krai fined local resident Ivan Kazhan 1,000 rubles for displaying extremist symbols. This is the first known punishment in Russia for content on the state-run messenger Max. .