A Kuban animal rights activist faced threats before the New Year.

An hour and a half before New Year's, an unknown person reported a car bomb threat to Tikhoretsk animal rights activist Denis Dzhalaganiya. The animal rights activist contacted the police, who found no explosive device.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Oksana Zhiteneva, head of the Stavropol animal rights organization, accused Denis Dzhalaganiya, a Kuban public animal welfare inspector, of slander, insults, and discrediting the army in late September, asking the FSB to open a criminal case against him. In October 2024, the court had already fined Dzhalaganiya for discrediting the army due to pacifist posts in an animal rights group chat. According to the activist, the case was also based on a denunciation. The police refused to open a case against Dzhalaganiya, and Zhiteneva also complained against the district police officer who made the decision. In October, Zhiteneva accused Dzhalaganiya of embezzling activists' money.

On December 31, 2025, an hour and a half before the New Year of 2026, Tikhoretsk animal rights activist Denis Dzhalaganiya, previously accused of discrediting the Russian army, received a call. "There's an explosive device in your car. If you drive it, it will be blown up," the unknown person said in a robotic voice.

"I was seriously scared," Jalagania told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. He said he immediately decided to call law enforcement. "I tried to get through to the police for two hours. But after two hours, I finally got through and told them about the call. A task force of canine handlers and a dog came to my home on New Year's. They checked the car for explosives but found nothing. "They took the statement, wrote down the number they called from, and left," Dzhalaganiya clarified.

The animal rights activist said he doesn't know who could have played such a cruel "prank" on him, which still makes him uneasy. "New Year's, of course, was ruined. Who could have played such a "prank" or intentionally frightened me and why is unknown. There are many ill-wishers in my animal rights work. I can't point the finger at anyone in particular. I told the police so," noted Denis Dzhalaganiya.

Lawyer Roman Pavlov advised never answering unknown phone calls. "Especially if you're not expecting a previously agreed-upon call. This way, you'll avoid the unpleasant moments scammers can cause. They typically call with various goals: to steal a bank card code, to intimidate, or to blackmail. If you pick up the phone and start a conversation, try to record it, save the phone number you called from, and immediately call the police. What the animal rights activist did is absolutely correct," the lawyer noted.

At the same time, the lawyer noted that the caller is unlikely to be detained. "What can the police do? They can do virtually nothing to catch a criminal using an unregistered SIM card. The only thing the police can do is send a team of canine handlers with dogs to determine whether the message is fake or real," the lawyer told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.