The key facts
- Mikhail Svetov has been sentenced in absentia to 1 year in a general-regime penal colony under Part 2 of Article 330.1 of the Russian Criminal Code
- The court banned him for three years from publishing information and running websites and channels
- Svetov is in Brazil and on a wanted list; his in-absentia arrest was ordered on July 20, 2026
In-absentia verdict in a foreign agents case
Blogger Mikhail Svetov, included by the Russian Justice Ministry in the registry of foreign agents, has been sentenced in absentia to one year of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony. As reported by the press service of the Moscow Prosecutor's Office, the court also banned him for three years from posting information and administering internet resources — websites and channels.
Grounds of the case and restrictions
The basis for the criminal prosecution was a violation of the requirements of the foreign agents legislation. Svetov was found guilty under Part 2 of Article 330.1 of the Russian Criminal Code — evasion of legally established obligations. According to Life.ru, the 41-year-old blogger had previously already been held administratively liable under Article 19.34 of the Russian Administrative Offenses Code, but after that, while outside Russia, he continued posting materials on social networks without the mandatory indication of his status.
Trial and preventive measure
The case was heard in Svetov's absence, since he is in Brazil and has been placed on a wanted list; at the same time, the proceedings followed the general procedure of criminal justice. Earlier, Life.ru reported the blogger's in-absentia arrest in the same case: the Savoyolovsky District Court of Moscow issued that ruling on July 20, 2026, when investigators secured a preventive measure against the blogger who was abroad.
