A resident of Dagestan is suspected of involvement with the "USSR"*

Investigators believe that a resident of Dagestan was distributing documents and propaganda materials promoting a banned extremist organization.

A criminal case regarding participation in a banned extremist organization (part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) has been initiated against a resident of Dagestan, the republican investigative committee reported today on its Telegram channel.

"According to the investigation, the suspect, being fully aware of the recognition of the public organization as an extremist organization and the prohibition of its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation, continued to participate in the activities of the said organization," the message states.

In particular, the man distributed documents and propaganda materials made on behalf of the organization, issued certificates, and also posted videos on the internet promoting the ideology of the organization, investigators believe.

"In addition, the suspect used a page he created on a video hosting site to distribute materials aimed at continuing the activities of the banned organization," the publication notes. No further details are provided.

According to the investigation, the suspect participated in the activities of the interregional public organization "USSR," which has been recognized as an extremist organization and banned, Interfax reports today.

Supporters of the USSR have repeatedly faced accusations of extremism in Dagestan

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on May 13, 2023, it became known that a court sentenced a resident of Makhachkala, Tatyana Fomina, to three years of conditional imprisonment for involvement in the activities of the banned extremist organization "USSR." The article under which Fomina was charged allows judges to impose fines, noted Dagestani lawyers interviewed by "Caucasian Knot." In June of the same year, a resident of Makhachkala, Sharab Davudov, was conditionally sentenced for participating in the activities of this organization.

The court in Makhachkala also found Ruslan Abdullayev, detained in March 2022, guilty of involvement with the "citizens of the USSR"* cell and sentenced him to a term in a penal colony. However, taking into account the time spent in custody, Abdullayev was released in the courtroom. The prosecutor's office demanded a harsher sentence, and the Supreme Court of Dagestan added six months of restriction of freedom to the sentence.

In February 2026, the Kirov District Court of Makhachkala imposed a conditional sentence on local resident Irina Gladchenko, recognizing her as a participant in the "Union of Slavic Forces of Rus"*. In May 2025, the same court sentenced Bagavutdin Kazimagomedov to 2.5 years of conditional imprisonment on similar charges.

It is absurd to call Dagestanis "Slavic forces"

In July 2026, Makhachkala resident Larisa Bochieva (also mentioned in the media as Larisa Bachieva) received a real prison sentence of six years for creating a cell of the extremist organization "USSR"*. The woman was charged under part 1 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of an extremist association), as she was allegedly leading the "Makhachkala Executive Committee of People's Deputies of the USSR," which law enforcement agencies linked to the banned extremist movement "Union of Slavic Forces of Rus." The Dagestani association of citizens of the USSR was "artificially and illegally tied" to the banned organization, said Bochieva's lawyer Patimat Abdulaeva to "Caucasian Knot." "Moreover, it is absurd to call Dagestanis 'Slavic forces'," she added.

Earlier, Larisa Bochieva told "Caucasian Knot" that she had no connections with the banned organization. "I just gathered people to create a public organization 'Executive Committee of the USSR'. But I am accused of having connections with the organization 'Union of Slavic Forces of Rus', recognized as a terrorist organization in the Republic of Komi in 2019... I immediately say that there is not a single piece of evidence of our connection. Not in the phone, not in correspondence, absolutely nowhere," Bochieva emphasized.

People who consider themselves citizens of the USSR are an informal community; they unite in various organizations, human rights activist Alexander Verkhovsky told "Caucasian Knot" in March 2023. "These are different people who believe that the USSR continues to legally exist, while the Russian Federation does not. They unite in different organizations. From time to time, these organizations also split into factions," he explained. According to the human rights activist, several organizations of those who consider themselves citizens of the USSR have already been banned in Russia, but not all of them contain the abbreviation USSR in their names.

Five organizations of "citizens of the USSR"* have been recognized as extremist: "USSR"* of Sergey Taraskin ("Union of Slavic Forces of Rus"*), "Council of Citizens of the USSR"* of the Prikuban District of Krasnodar, "People's Council of Citizens of the RSFSR USSR of the Arkhangelsk Region"*, "Community of 'Citizens of the USSR'* based in Novokuibyshevsk, Samara Region (main name - 'Citizens of the USSR'*) and "Supreme Council of Tatar ASSR"*.

* The interregional public organization "Union of Slavic Forces of Rus" was recognized as an extremist organization in August 2019, a decision made by the Supreme Court of Komi. Several other organizations with the abbreviation USSR in their names have also been added to the extremist list.

** The activities of the company Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.