19:20, 20 May 2026

The arrest of Volgograd journalist Koshelev has been extended.

The Volgograd Central District Court extended the arrest of journalist Vitaly Koshelev, suspected of large-scale extortion from the head physician of a clinic in the Dzerzhinsky District, until June 23.

As reported by Kavkazsky Uzel, in early April, the appellate court rejected the defense's appeal against the arrest of Volgograd journalist Vitaly Koshelev, accused of extortion, and remanded him in pretrial detention until May 23. His colleague, Alexei Serovoy, is under house arrest.

According to investigators, the head physician of a Volgograd clinic contacted law enforcement this spring. A woman claimed that unknown individuals were extorting over 1,200,000 rubles from her. It was discovered that the pressure was exerted through an anonymous Telegram channel with a following of thousands, run by Vitaly Koshelev and Alexey Serovoy. This resource published information about her and her loved ones that was untrue and damaging to her reputation. The channel's creators then contacted the doctor and demanded payment to stop publishing and remove existing materials. On March 26, it was reported that two journalists had been detained in Volgograd.

At today's court hearing, investigative authorities requested a month-long extension of the pretrial detention "to allow for a final legal assessment of the defendant's actions." Vitaly Koshelev and his lawyer, Albert Karmazinovsky, objected to the investigator's arguments in court, but the court upheld the authorities' motion, Volgograd Online reported today. "Having reviewed the evidence presented by the investigators and assessed the circumstances of the case, the court deemed it necessary to extend the pretrial detention measure, deeming it necessary to ensure the proper course of the trial," the publication quotes the court ruling. Vitaly Koshelev's pretrial detention measure has been extended until June 23, 2026. The ruling has not yet entered into legal force and can be appealed.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that blogger Alexei Ulyanov, detained by security forces in Volgograd, was hospitalized after being arrested on extortion charges, and was then transferred to a pre-trial detention center. According to investigators, he demanded money for not posting information undesirable for businessmen. On December 4, 2025, he was arrested for two months.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/423405